




































By The Same Author 


The Men on Deck 


“ It is the only work that I know of, at least on this side, to 
take the place of the old stand-by, R. H. Dana’s * Seaman’s Friend,’ 
unfortunately shelved by the complete change in conditions at¬ 
tending seafaring life.”— Captain C. T. Charlton, U. S. Local In¬ 
spector, Steamboat-Inspection Service. N. Y. 

“The work is surprisingly complete for the space it occupies 
and should be of great value to junior officers of the Merchant 
Marine. , . . An attempt is made to standardize the methods of 
steam navigation as sail navigation has been. The author has not 
fallen short of his intended purpose.”— Journal of American 
Society of Naval Engineers. 

“The object of this book is to show what are the duties of 
the American seaman. ... It offers an efficient ideal standard 
which should make the American merchant service known 
throughout the * Seven Seas ’ as the most efficient in the world, as 
it was in early clipper-ship days.”— Proceedings of the U. S. 
Naval Institute. 

“ In time it will be a classic among officers of every merchant 
marine.”— Captain Robert A. Bartlett. 

“Should prove extremely helpful to the new officers of our 
Merchant Marine.”— C. W. Jungen, Manager, Southern Pacific 
Company, Atlantic Steamship Lines. 


Under Sail 


“Felix Riesenberg’s ‘Under Sail,’ a record of life before the 
mast on an American ship in 1898, is destined to become one of 
the very few sea classics.”— Grant M. Overton, in N. Y. Sun. 

“If ‘Under Sail’ is a stimulating book in the associations it 
arouses, it is equally fine in creating new vistas of American sea¬ 
manship. . . . Life, tossed by storms, becalmed In the tropics, 
enervated in Honolulu and tricked in New York, is the life splendid, 
a form of life departed. . . . The skysail yarder is gone, gone is 
the chantey that enlivened the crew, gone are the ropes and the 
art of knotting them, gone is the old-time sailor. Today these 
elements of romance live only in books, and nowhere do they live 
as vividly, as accurately, as stirringly, as in ‘Under Sail’.” — W. H. 
Solle, in The Post, Chicago. 

“ The high spots of the voyage are related with a vigor and 
freshness which proclaims the author a born writer.”— Salt Lake 
Herald, Utah. 

“Felix Riesenberg’s ‘Under Sail’ is a real tale of the sea, 
written by a real sailor, with adventure, fun and hardship in 
abundance, but minus the blood-and-thunder, nonsensical melo¬ 
drama of a certain class of sea fiction. It is in the smart handling 
of this American vessel, the pride of the crew in their work 
despite the hard-fisted discipline, and the decency of the men in 
the fo’clsle which brings Mr. Riesenberg’s book up to the very best 
of sea narratives.”— Independent, New York. 

“His tale is unvarnished. The pages ring with vigorous 
dialogue, and the descriptions are picturesque. His character 
sketches of officers and men are excellent; his accounts of the 
daily routine are full of information and any old sailor would read 
the pages with interest because of the atmosphere of the deep 
ocean, which is so faithfully presented.”— J. S. B., in Boston 
Transcript. 



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nd shipshape gear throughout distinguish this type of cargo carrier. 


































STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 

FOR THE 

MERCHANT SERVICE 


BY 

FELIX RIESENBERG, C.E. 

MASTER MARINER in Sail and Steam; ST. MARY’S, Class of 1897; 
Lieutenant Commander, Volunteer Reserve, U. S. N. 
Commanding Schoolship NEWPORT, 1917-1918-1919. 

Author of “ Under Sail, ” “ The Men on Deck ” etc. 


V 


625 ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK 

D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY 
Eight Warren Street 
1922 

w S o 




,Rs^ 

<5L 




By D. 


Copyright, 1922 

Van Nostrand Company 



All rights reserved, including that of translations into 
foreign languages, including the Scandinavian 


Printed in the United States of America 


APR 26 1922 

©B.A659786 


'wo ry 



The seaman carries on in open competition with 
the world. Only the most able and efficient nations 
prosper in the constant commercial struggle waged 
upon the sea. The ocean cargoes of the world al¬ 
ways move through channels of the least resis¬ 
tance—of lowest total transportation cost. 

The owner , underwriter , seafarer and the mari¬ 
time nations they represent , measure their pros¬ 
perity by the standard of ability , energy and in¬ 
tegrity engaged in the management of shipping. 













PREFACE 


When the sea and men and ships were brought together at 
the beginning of the ancient craft of seamanship, the range of 
man’s vision extended with his conquest on the sea. The dread¬ 
ful superstitions of land-locked people gradually gave way before 
the enlightenment and freedom of the seas—the seaman moves 
forward in the very vanguard of human progress. 

Without the sailor, and without the heroic heritage with which 
he has endowed the world, men today would live in dark and 
hopeless isolation. In the old days the boldest sought the sea— 
the most daring men were those who voyaged far beyond the 
blue horizon. And today, when everything at sea seems safe, 
sailors handle mighty vessels thousands of times as great and 
more difficult to manage than those with which the art of sea¬ 
manship began. 

The work of the sailor, as his name implies, started with the 
use of the winds, the spreading and management of sails. 
Propulsion by means of oars continued for many years after 
sails came into use. The Phoenician galleys and the long ships 
of the Vikings combined both oars and sails. The long voyages 
of the world, however, were first made possible by sail. The 
nef and the caravel and the larger and more able craft that 
followed, on to the time of the Great Republic and the ships of 
her day, carried the art of sailing to a high state of perfec¬ 
tion. Then came a third transition in motive power at sea. 
Boilers and engines were placed in the hulls of ships and seaman¬ 
ship combined the art of sailing with the art of handling vessels 
by their own power applied through paddle wheels or screws. 
For centuries the sailor had managed his craft alone, after the 
passing of the oarsman, and then he was joined by a new sea¬ 
farer, the ocean engineer. 

Always the old processes of seamanship have undergone their 
changes. Oars—oars and sail—sail—sail and steam— and 

vii 


viii 


PREFACE 


today we have steam and motor vessels covering the seas and 
able sailing craft still holding on and improving their oppor¬ 
tunities in the world-wide lanes of trade. As fuel increases in 
cost sail comes back wherever voyages are long and freights 
too low to tempt the power carrier. 

In the great field of power driven steel construction a vast 
economic struggle is in progress between the engines of Watt 
and Fulton, the turbines of Parsons and Curtis, and the motor of 
Diesel. And aside from this there is the competition of coal 
and oil fuel for the generation of steam. Overshadowing the 
giant struggle is the spirit of Faraday picking and choosing a 
prime mover for the final dynamo sprung from his discoveries. 

As motive forces and materials of construction have improved 
the tonnage of vessels has increased until a point is near where 
limiting factors, both economic and material, tend to put an end 
to further growth in size. The thousand foot liner and the 
twenty thousand ton dead weight carrier are about the largest 
craft for trans-ocean service or for world-wide cargo trade. 
Sailing craft of seven to eight thousand dead weight tons are all 
that men may safely handle even with the most scientific sailing 
gear; 

These larger faster craft have brought with them great de¬ 
mands upon the ancient art of seamanship. New and better 
gear is required. Steel and fiber ropes of superior make and of 
unprecedented size and strength are now employed. Tackle of 
all kinds is heavier, stronger. Anchor cables have reached an 
enormous size; anchors are being forged to as great a weight 
as fifteen tons. Boats have multiplied until the larger passenger 
carriers are covered with flotillas of small craft nested in twos 
and threes under huge mechanical davits with steam and electric 
hoists for their management. Forces have multiplied in every 
direction while crews, composed of able seamen, are smaller 
and often less able than before. And with all of this has 
come a tremendous increase in the value of property at sea, 
while thousands of lives are entrusted to the safety of a single 
ship. 

In considering these matters we must always remember that 
the sea is no respecter of ships or persons. The sea is always 
ready, at the first sign of failure, to rush in and destroy the very 




PREFACE 


ix 


craft it so readily supports upon the surface of the water. The 
sea is only safe and harmless so long as the ship is safe and 
seaworthy and ably handled. The great liner, with a gash in 
her side, becomes a very charnel house of death. In a few 
moments the safe and comfortable ship is a horrible trap. The 
great powerful craft rushing through the sea at express speed 
turns her power and her momentum into a dreadful cause of 
destruction when she piles upon a reef, rams an iceberg, or cuts 
down another vessel. 

No matter how important a man at sea may consider himself, 
unless he is fundamentally worthy the sea will some day find 
him out. If a wrong move is made at sea, in a critical moment, 
death may be the penalty for the most simple failure—not only 
death to one but to many. Incompetence may prevail upon the 
shore but at sea it sooner or later is ruthlessly uncovered and 
utter disaster often follows in its wake. The strong feeling 
among seafaring men that disaster is disgrace has its origin in 
this ancient law of the sea. The master going down with his 
ship signifies the inward feeling of the man who has lost all 
when he has lost his shield of honor. His seamanship has failed 
in the great emergency, or, lulled by false security, he has ne¬ 
glected some precaution and many lives, other than his own, are 
the price of his neglect. To live longer under such a burden 
would be too much so he pays the price of failure with his 
life. 

This tradition of the master’s responsibility is further em¬ 
phasized by the fact that, no matter why his vessel founders, 
he must be the last to leave his sinking ship. These basic 
things, grown out of actual and constant contact with danger, 
place the art of seamanship upon the very highest plane of 
responsible employment. 

An understanding of the points of seamanship is of great 
importance to all who contribute toward the construction and 
equipment of vessels. The naval architect and the designing 
engineer and builder should at least have a sound working 
knowledge of seamanship. This has not always been the case 
and the opinion of seaman, in the merchant marine at least, is 
too seldom considered by those who plan the structures the 
seaman must later on manage at sea. 


X 


PREFACE 


With the increase in the use of power has come a feeling of 
segregation between the sailormen and engineers. The great 
engines are a mystery to most of those who work on deck, the 
ground tackle, cargo gear and boats are strange to those who 
work below. In the very old days the men who rowed were 
chained to their benches at the galley oars. Today men are 
held by rules and customs that chain them to their special jobs. 
Some day, many, many years from now, perhaps, seamen and 
engineers will be one crew performing their duties in rotation, 
ready at all times for the call of “ all hands ” to do a job of sailor- 
izing or of engineering as the case may be. Officers will alternate 
between the bridge and the engine room and the master and 
chief engineer will be one. Those below will get a breath of 
fresh air and a wider outlook, those on deck, and on the bridge, 
will be more able and better men. Sticking too close to one 
grindstone, as we do today, makes us clever on the one hand 
and blind on the other. In the meantime ocean going engineers 
should know as much as possible about the launching and 
handling of small boats and should be familiar with the use and 
purposes of ground tackle and cargo gear. Everywhere on board 
ship the functions of the seaman and the engineer interlock and 
combine and their duties bring with them the necessity for 
intelligent cooperation. 

In 1757 the French savant Pierre Bouguer, distinguished as a 
profound mathematician and geodesist, noted the lack of trea¬ 
tises on seamanship compared with the abundance of books on 
navigation. To a certain extent this lack of writing on the art of 
seamanship exists today and always will so long as men must 
write from first hand knowledge. Seamen, since the beginning, 
have handed down much of their knowledge by word of mouth 
and through hard experience. Old men become clever in the 
lore of the sea by actual physical contact with its forces. In every 
age the most useful things survive and are passed onward and 
in seamanship we still employ many ancient knots and tools. 
Seamen of today follow customs and use many phrases once cur¬ 
rent on the exploring, fighting and trading ships of the distant past. 

The outstanding books on seamanship have been so few that 
the list is worthy of recording. In 1777 William Hutchinson 
wrote A Treatise on Practical Seamanship. D’Arcy Levels 



PREFACE 


xi 


Young Officer's Sheet Anchor appeared in 1835. In 1841 
Richard Dana of Two Years Before the Mast fame, published 
his Seamen's Friend, a manual containing valuable data on the 
seamanship of his day. In 1845 Tinmouth published his inter¬ 
esting Inquiry Relative To Various Points on Seamanship, 
Brady’s Kedge Anchor, Stevens’ On Stowage, Luce’s Seaman¬ 
ship, and the seamanships of Nares and Alston followed in due 
course, all of them exclusively the seamanship of sail. Stevens, 
in his later editions, shows the stowage of steamers. 

Late in the last century Captains Todd andjWhall published 
their Practical Seamanship for The Merchant Service, a work 
to first take up the problems growing out of steam, though still 
devoted, in large part, to the sailing craft of the time. This 
excellent book has been revised and while out of date on many 
points contains much valuable information and is still in large 
demand. Then we have the naval seamanships of Knight and 
Henderson and the Manual of Seamanship of the British 
Admiralty. Admiral Knight’s excellent Modern Seamanship is 
the official text book of the United States Navy. All of these 
latter books are mainly devoted to the seamanship of steam, 
and none of them treat of modern merchant service develop¬ 
ments. Stowage, the tanker, cargo gear, winches, the prepa¬ 
ration of cargo holds and the special problems incident to the 
carriage of live stock, or passengers, are not included in the 
naval books. 

For some years it has been evident that a new work on seaman¬ 
ship is needed by the merchant seaman. Great progress has 
been made in ship construction and handling and many special 
safety devices and appliances have come into general use. The 
great increase in the number of persons carried afloat, the added 
danger and responsibility, seems to call for a comprehensive 
presentation of the art as it stands today. 

The author has been engaged in the preparation of this 
book during the greater part of the last four years, having begun 
preliminary work on the seamanship soon after taking command 
of the Schoolship Newport in the summer of 1917, and con¬ 
tinuing since his retirement from that post in the spring of 1919. 
Generous and valuable assistance has been rendered him from 
many sources and he has attempted to fully acknowledge this 
in the foreword and in the text. 


xii 


PREFACE 


Standard Seamanship is offered to those serving at sea and 
is also modestly suggested as of value to those who design 
build, own and insure ships. It is the hope of the author that 
the book may aid in the attainment of a broad and sound founda¬ 
tion in seamanship among the younger members of a most 
useful, and important profession. 

Felix Riesenberg 

New York, 

January 2, 1922 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The author wishes to make acknowledgment of the many 
sources from which he has drawn material in the preparation of 
Standard Seamanship. Throughout the text, where possible to 
do so, credit is given to authorities cited. The marine publica¬ 
tions have been freely consulted and material quoted is printed 
with permission, credit being given in the text. Without excep¬ 
tion individuals and firms have been most helpful and generous 
in their assistance. Many of the large ship, engine and equip¬ 
ment companies have made available valuable data and research 
material; much of this has never before been published. 

The author is specially indebted to the following gentlemen 
for valuable assistance. Captain Robert A. Bartlett, U. S. Army 
Transport Service, commanding S. S. Madawaska; Commander 
A. B. Bennett, of the U. S. Power Squadrons; Captain G. M. 
Brodthage, commanding the tank steamer Halsey; Captain 
Reginald Fay, Marine Superintendent, N. Y. Central R. R.; 
Captain Joseph Hossock of Durkee and Co., N. Y.; Commander 
E. V. W. Keen, U. S. N. R.; Mr. James H. Kimball, Meteorolo¬ 
gist, U. S. Weather Bureau, N. Y.; Captain A. P. Lundin, Chair¬ 
man of the Board, American Balsa Co.; Captain C. A. McAllister, 
U. S. C. G. (retired), Vice-President, The American Bureau of 
Shipping; Mr. J. H. Michener, Jr., of the Michener Stowage 
Company; Captain Thos. A. Miller, European Representative 
of the Universal Transportation Co.; Mr. Robert W. Morrell, 
naval architect; the late Captain Emery Rice, commander of the 
S. S. Mongolia; Mr. Edward S. Swazey of the American Balsa 
Company; and to his former shipmate Mr. George P. Tepper 
for valuable data on splicing wire. 





PREFACE 


xiii 


The following officers of the Schoolship Newport rendered 
valued assistance in the work of gathering material. Captain 
Gershom Bradford (late Executive officer of the Schoolship), 
Mr. H. W. Stock, and Mr. Wm. Kuhnle, Executive and Navi¬ 
gating Officers, and Mr. J. A. Farrell, secretary to the author, 
while in command of the Schoolship. Special acknowledgment 
is due to Boatswain Wm. H. Dreilick, in his thirty-seventh year of 
continuous service on the Schoolships St. Mary’s and Newport. 
To Boatswain Dreilick the author is indebted for his first initia¬ 
tion in the art of seamanship, and for much valuable assistance 
in the preparation of this work. 

The following firms have supplied illustrations used in the 
text: American Balsa Co.; John Bliss and Co.; Broderick and 
Bascom Rope Co.; H. E. Boucher Mfg. Co.; Chadburn Ship 
Telegraph Co.; Cox and Stevens; Crandall Engineering Co.; 
Durkee and Co.; Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company of San 
Francisco; The Frick Co.; W. R. Grace and Co.; General 
Electric Co.; John Hand and Son; Lidgerwood Mfg. Co.; Luck- 
enbach S. S. Co.; The McNab Company; Michener Stowage 
Co.; Morse Dry Dock and Repair Co.; Pnumercator Co.; John 
A. Roebling Sons Co.; Sperry Gyro Co.; Steward Davit and 
Equipment Co.; and the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Co. 

The official publications of the U. S. Government have also 
been drawn upon and due acknowledgment is made to the 
departments quoted. 

The author also wishes to express his great appreciation for 
the encouragement rendered him by Mr. C. E. Speirs, Vice- 
President of D. Van Nostrand Company, whose firm belief in 
the need of an American Merchant Service Manual inspired 
the writing of this book, and to Mr. E. Eichel, of D. Van 
No strand Company, for his assistance and able handling of the 
book in preparation for the press. 

In a book of this nature, based largely upon custom and opinion 
and combining data from widely scattered sources, errors are 
liable to creep in. The author will appreciate corrections and 
opinions to the end that future editions may be made more 
useful and complete. 


F. R. 









ERRATA 

llllllllllllllll 


age 24 line 16 for 26,600, read 21,600 

“ 77 last line of footnote read ^“Such rope is seldom 

made, and is always cable-laid.” 

“ 80 line 30 for 1/8, read 1 1/8 

“ 80 “ 33 for 8/16, read 1/2 

“ 83 foot note refers to “Engineers Society of Western 

Pennsylvania.” 

“ 266 line 16 for screened, read screwed. 

IOTE—A few obvious errors are not noted. The reader should make the 
above corrections to avoid possible mistakes. 






CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 1. TYPES OF VESSELS 


Page 

1 


Steam and Motor Vessels—Sailing Craft—Tonnage—Linear Dimen¬ 
tions—Propelling Machinery—Classification. 


CHAPTER 2. THE HULL 


40 


Steel Construction—Transverse Construction—Parts of Hull—Longi¬ 
tudinal Construction—Methods of Construction—Wooden Construc¬ 
tion. 

CHAPTER 3. ROPES, KNOTS, SPLICES. 74 

Rope—Notes on the Care of Rope—Knots—Hitches—Bends— 
Seizings—Lashings—Splices—Wire Rope—Splicing Wire Rope— 
Rope Tables. 


CHAPTER 4. BLOCKS AND TACKLES. 129 

Blocks—Tackles—Purchases—Mechanics on Board Ship—Composi¬ 
tion and Resolution of Forces. 

CHAPTER 5. STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR. 151 

Masts—Booms—Rigging—Heavy Hoists—Cargo Gear—Slings— 
Nets—Hooks—Tables—Mechanical Loading and Discharging. 
CHAPTER 6. SAILING SHIP RIGGING—SAILS—CANVAS 

WORK. 179 


Masts and Spars—Rigging, Running, Standing—Sails—Repairing— 
Cutting. Canvas Work. 

CHAPTER 7. DECK MACHINERY. 221 


Cargo Winches—The Placement and Use of Cargo Winches— 


Capstans and Warping Winches—Pumps. 

CHAPTER 8. HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS. 241 

Holds—Peaks—Tanks—Bunkers—The Pnumercator. 

CHAPTER 9. STOWAGE. 255 


Foreword—Preparing for Stowage—Order of Stowage—Railway 
Iron—Steel Billets—Sugar—Hides—Jute—Silk—Tea—Tobacco- 
Cotton—Wool—Casks—Lumber—General Cargo—Dangerous Car¬ 
go—Case Oil—Grain Cargo—Special Cargo—Pilfering—Rats and 
Cargo—Refrigerator Ships—Ore Carriers—Carriage of Coal. 

CHAPTER 10. CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK. 322 


Loading—U. S. Government Regulations. 

CHAPTER 11. THE TANKER. 343 

The Action of Tank Vessels—Subdivision of Hull—Pump Room—Pipe 
Lines—Valves—Hatches—The Mooring Lines—Expansion Trunks 
—Important Points—Ballasting a Tanker—The Care of Tanks— 
Repairs in Dry Dock, Precautions—General Remarks—Oil Cargo—• 
Barges—The Molasses Tanker. 


xv 













xvi 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 12. PASSENGER VESSELS. 372 

General Remarks—Station Bills—Baggage—Mails—Specie. 

CHAPTER 13. BOATS. 385 

General—Types of Construction—Parts of a Small Boat—Classes of 
Boats—Equipment of Boats—Special Types of Boats—Letter from 
Captain A. P. Lundin—Collapsible Boats—-Radio Equipment—Boat 
Handling—Boats Under Oars—Running Out a Line—-Management 
of Open Boats in a Surf—Riding Out A Gale in Small Boats • 
Boarding a Wreck—Man Overboard—Sailing Boats—Boat Sailing. 

CHAPTER 14. COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING.453 

Compass—Boxing The Compass—Relative Bearings—The Gyro 
Compass—-The Lead—The Sounding Machine—The Submarine 
Sentry—The Log—Old-Fashioned Log—The Taffrail Log—The 
Navigator Log—The Sperry Log—The Shoal Water Alarm—Pilot¬ 
ing—Data On Charts—Buoys—Data On Lighthouses—Tides— 


Bearings—Submarine Bells—Radio Compass Bearings—The Direc¬ 
tion Cable—Pilots. 

CHAPTER 15. THE BRIDGE. 533 

Design—Relieving Watch—Keeping Watch—Bridge Routine— 
Steering—Notes on Signals—Morse Code—International Code 
Flags—Radio—Semaphore—Yacht Routine—The Log Book—Pre¬ 
paring For Sea. 

CHAPTER 16. RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA. 574 

Foreword—The International and Inland Rules—U. S. Pilot Rules— 
Special Rules—Notes on Rules of the Road. 

CHAPTER 17. GROUND TACKLE. 619 

Foreword—Anchors—Old Fashioned—Stockless—Special—Classi¬ 


fication of Anchors—Chain Cables—Marking of Cables—Seeming 
Cables in Locker—The Windlass—Coming to Anchor—Weighing 
Anchor—Weighing From a Mooring—Stowing Anchors—To Lay 
Out An Anchor. 

CHAPTER 18. HANDLING A STEAMER. 654 

Foreword—Anchoring—Riding to Single Anchor—Backing an 
Anchor—Mooring—Coming Alongside—Tying Up—Docking a Liner 
—Fire Warp—Going Alongside of Another Vessel—Notes on 
Docking—Single Screws—Twin Screws—Towing—Automatic Ten¬ 
sion Engine—Taking a Vessel in Tow—Casting Off A Tow—Aban¬ 
doning A Tow—Wire Towing Hawsers—Towing Regulations— 
Running Short of Bunker Fuel—Coaling At Sea—Bunkering Fuel 
Oil At Sea—Handling in Heavy Weather—Rigging A Jury Rudder— 

Use of Oil To Calm the Sea—Stability—Rolling—Bilge Keels— 
Rolling Tanks—Gyro Stabilizer—Sea Waves—Convoys—Collision—• 

Ice and Dereb'cts—Bilging—Stranding—Fire On Board Ship- 
Ship’s Business—Right of Search—Right of Approach—Blockades. 

CHAPTER 19. HANDLING A SAILER. 768 

Foreword—Tacking a Square Rigger—Missing Stays—Tacking a 
Barkentine—Tacking a Fore and After—Wearing a Square Rigger— 










CONTENTS 


xvii 


Wearing a Fore and After—Box Hauling—Wearing in Heavy 
Weather—Club Hauling—Heavy Weather Sailing—Scudding— 
Notes On Handling Sail—Fore and Aft Canvas—Squalls—Jury 
Rigs—Man Overboard—Nearing Another Vessel—Coming to Anchor 
—Casting. 

CHAPTER 20. WEATHER AT SEA. 795 

Foreword—Beaufort Scale—Storm Warnings—Forecasting the 
Weather—Radio Forecasts—Winds—Pilot Charts—Data On Cy¬ 
clonic Storms—Rules For Maneuvering in a Cyclonic Storm— 
Weather On The Oceans Of The World. 

CHAPTER 21. SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP. 876 

General—Rescue from Drowning—Restoring the Apparently 
Drowned—U. S. Coast Guard Lifesaving Stations—Cleanliness— 
Living Quarters—Drinking Water—Bedding—Morale. 

CHAPTER 22. SHIP MAINTENANCE. 891 

Painting—Paint Guns—Paints—Varnish—Bottom Compositions— 
Brushes—How to Paint—Formulas—Cementing—Dry Docking— 
Decks — Caulking — Paying — Washing Down — Laying Up — The 
Maintenance Book. 














CHAPTER I 


TYPES OF VESSELS 

I 

Steam and Motor Vessels 

Steamers and other vessels depending upon mechanical pro¬ 
pulsion now form the bulk of overseas carriers and may be 
roughly divided into two classes— Liners , and Tramps. 

Liners may be considered to include all vessels plying between 
definite ports and running on a more or less well defined sched¬ 
ule, whether carrying passengers, cargo, or both. 

Tramps are generally understood to be vessels engaged in 
cargo carrying, their movements governed by the freights that 
offer. Tramps are usually of moderate tonnage and draft, 
designed to enter many ports, and of slow speed and low fuel 
consumption. Economy of operation and adaptability as cargo 
carriers are the factors kept foremost in their design. 

The above division is one based on use rather than design, 
but in either case we have vessels of marked characteristics 
only fitted for certain services. The large mail steamer, of great 
tonnage and speed, only able to enter deepwater ports, with 
special terminal facilities, must necessarily be a liner. Ranging 
down from this we have a great variety of ocean craft. 

The many kinds of vessels met with at sea, and seen in the 
ports of the world, have been called into existence through 
balancing of the wide range of requirements and restrictions 
governing the building and operating of steamers. A few of the 
things entering into the design of ocean craft are given for the 
consideration of the seafaring man for whom this book is being 
written. 

Depth of water in harbors likely to be used. 

Dock dimensions at terminals. 

Length of runs to be made. 1 Direct factors in figuring bunker 
Speed desired. J spaces y horsepower and tonnage. 


1 


2 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Classes of passenger trade. 

Possible service as cruisers, or transports. 

Weather conditions and sea conditions to be met on contem¬ 
plated routes. 

Kinds of fuel available. 

Most economical materials of construction. 

Labor costs of fabrication.* 

Kinds of cargo to be carried: 

General, Grain, Coal, Oil, Molasses, Cotton, Live¬ 
stock, Lumber, Combustible materials, Acids, Explo¬ 
sives, Perishable, such as frozen meats, fruits, Fertil¬ 
izer, Heavy machinery , Ore , Sulphur , etc . 

Size of vessel will also depend somewhat on the amount 
of cargo generally available. The type of cargo handling gear 
will depend upon kind of cargo, condition of lading and dis¬ 
charging, whether at wharves, or into lighters, and the pumps, 
refrigerating machines, winches, masts, booms, and king posts, 
are also largely a result of existing conditions, all gradually 
being improved through experience. For instance, winches on 
deck, close to the hatch coamings, have often proven in the way, 
and now many vessels are fitted with winch platforms , lifting 
this machinery clear of the deck, and clear of the washing of the 
sea in all but the heaviest weather. The winchmen have a better 
view of their work, if well placed, and greater efficiency results 
from improved design. 

The sea officer and engineer should constantly study his vessel 
with such considerations in mind and many suggestions of value 
will be carried ashore to the ship architect and designer. 

The result of growing experience is standardization, and now 
certain recognized types of vessels are being evolved as best 
fitted for particular trades. The development of better engines, 
the use of oil fuel, either under boilers or direct, are large factors 
in the changing design of ocean craft. 

* The general design of cargo ships is also determined by considerations of 
first cost and operating cost. 

Limiting size will be determined, therefore, by the amount of money the 
owners may desire to put in a single ship, in combination with other factors. 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


3 


Types of Vessels 




r—r— n 






Fast Transatlantic and Transpacific Express. Oil 

burning, turbine 


engines geared direct, or electric drive. Loaded displacement 30,000 to 
60,000 tons. High speed, large passenger accommodation, mail and special 
cargo only . 



Slower, passenger and mails. Vessel designed for service to South 
American ports, Africa, The Mediterranean Ports, and for tourist cruising. 
Moderate cargo holds. Oil or coal burning reciprocating or turbine engines. 
10,000 to 30,000 tons loaded displacement. 

The two types illustrated are capable of a large range of vari¬ 
ation but both show the characteristics of such large passenger 
craft. Harbor depths, wharves and length of run are limiting 
factors. 



The S. S. Texan, 18,000 tons loaded displacement. A typical American cargo 
carrier. Reciprocating engines. 



A steam tanker. Wide range of tonnage. The motor tanker fitted with 
Diesel type engines is entering this field. Most tankers have their power 
plant aft and bridge amidships. 







































































4 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The tanker is being largely constructed on the longitudinal 
system of framing.* 



Well decked cargo carrier, the “ three island ” type. This is a favorite 
tramp model, and is built in a wide range of tonnage. The well decks, housed 
over, are often used for the transport of cattle. 


The cruiser stern is a recent development in merchant craft 
and seems to have much to commend it. A stern hawse pipe 

fitted with a large stern anchor 
of the stockless type, is a handy 
arrangement from the point of 
seamanship, and the stern wind¬ 
lass engine can operate the poop 
capstans. 

Having the stern anchor handy, 
to be let go in an instant, or 
lowered in a boat, is an improve¬ 
ment over the system employed 
in many vessels where this nec¬ 
essary emergency anchor is often found lashed to a stanchion 
in the ’tween deck. 



Cruiser Stern 



Freighter with long forecastle head, fore hatch on forecastle head, short 
forward well deck, and long after well deck. Cruiser stern. Wide range of 
tonnage. 


* The Isherwood and the Gatewood systems of longitudinal framing are 
most used. 










































TYPES OF VESSELS 


5 




Well deck forward, topgallant forecastle, and long poop. Passenger 
carrier in limited trades, cargo and passengers from port to port in coast line 
service. Tonnage range from 2,000 to 10,000. 



Flush deck. Awning decked construction. Coastwise, cargo and possibly 
small passenger accommodation. 1,000 to 6,000 tons approximate range of 
displacement. Fruit steamers are generally of this type and are usually 
painted white. 



Spar decked, cruiser stern, cargo and small passenger accommodation. 
Moderate tonnage. 



A United States naval collier. A highly specialized type of craft for quick 
coaling operations at sea, or in part, from ship to ship. 







































































6 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The motor vessel.. The passing of the funnel, comes to us with almost 
as great a shock as the passing of sail. Something has gone and there is 
nothing to take its place. The motor ship, as it is generally styled, comes 
with as wide a variety design as does the steamer. When the stack goes a 
great deal of dirt and waste of fuel will go with it. Motor vessels of the 
Diesel and hot-bulb type usually carry small stacks. 

The lake steamer is a typical American product. These 
vessels are distinguished by their great number of hatches, and 
many of them have their power plant aft as in the tankers, while 
the pilot house and navigating bridge is placed close to the bow. 



The “lake steamer,” developed for the carriage of grain, coal, and ore 
in bulk, and for greater economy in loading and discharging by machinery. 

Special considerations of summer navigation have developed 
this type. Construction has been too light for ocean use, and 
even hazardous in the early and late months of the season when 
the great inland lakes are often swept by heavy storms. 



The “ whaleback ” steamer was developed on the Great Lakes, 
but has not found permanent favor. 


A number of other special types of seagoing craft have been 
designed and some have achieved considerable use. 










































TYPES OF VESSELS 


7 


Holms, in his standard work, “ Practical Shipbuilding ” 
describes the turret deck steamer as follows: 



The “ turret deck ” steamer has been very popular with the British, and 
presents certain advantages from a measurement standpoint. 


“ The Turret-deck type, now practically obsolete, may be 
regarded as a development of the American whale-back; the 
only resemblance, however, is in the rounded gunwale and the 
absence of sheer; under water the hull is of normal form. Its 
peculiarity lies in the fore-and-aft superstructure, which re¬ 
sembles a continuous high-coaminged hatchway, decked over, 
however, except in the way of the hatchway openings; it is 
termed the ‘ turret deck.’ Several advantages are claimed for 
this design, particularly its suitability for carrying grain in bulk.” 

In the sketches of vessels relative size is partly indicated by 
the proportion of the upper works. 

Extreme size in vesel construction seems to have been reached. 
The pre-war competition between Great Britain and Germany in 
the Transatlantic Trade was bringing forth such monsters as 
the Leviathan (formerly the Vaterland ), the Imperator, and the 
Bismarck, while the British came back with ships like the 
Aquitania .* 


* Aquitania :— 

868.7' Length 

97' Breadth 
49.7' Depth 

45,647 Gross tonnage. 
28,408 Under deck tonnage. 
21,993 Net tonnage. 

Leviathan :— 

907.6' Length 
100.3' Breadth 
58.2' Depth 

54,282 Gross tonnage. 
37,384 Under deck tonnage. 
23,548 Net tonnage. 

Imperator :— 

882.9' Length 

52,022 Gross tonnage. 

(re-named Berengaria ) 

98.3' Breadth 
57.1' Depth 

36,307 Under deck tonnage. 
23,229 Net tonnage. 

Bismarck :— 

912' Length 

56,000 Gross tonnage. 

(re-named Majestic) 

100' Breadth 
57.1' Depth 

















8 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


This period, for a time at least, seems to have come to a stop. 
The tremendous liner is so limited in use, so expensive to run 
and maintain, that more moderate and better balanced craft 
may be looked for in the immediate future. 


Motor or Steam 

The question of motor propulsion or steam propulsion is of 
interest, involving problems of comparative economy, and even¬ 
tually, at least, the available supply of oil or solid fuel. Motor- 
ship , a magazine published in the interests of motor driven 
commercial vessels, has issued the following interesting com¬ 
parison for construction in 1920. What the comparison will be 
in 1930 is left to the imagination of the reader. 


Comparison Between an Oil-fired Steamer and a Diesel-driven Motorship of 
the Same Dimensions 
(Taken from an Existing Motor Vessel) 

Steamer Motorship 

Length O. A.440 ft.440 ft. 

Length B. P.425 ft.425 ft. 

Breadth. 56 ft. 56 ft. 

Depth. 38 ft. 38 ft. 

Draught (Loaded). 26 ft. 26 ft. 

Dead-weight-capacity.9,350 tons.9,500 tons 

Fuel-Capacity.1,300 tons.1,300 tons 

Cargo-Capacity (Maximum on 7,600 

Miles Voyage).7,970 tons.8,925 tons 

Designed Loaded-Speed.13 V4 Knots.13 Knots 

Probable Average Sea-Speed for 1 year. . 11*/^ to 12 Knots. 12 to I 2 V 2 Knots 

Power.4,000 I.H.P.4,000 I.H.P. 

Propeller Speed.85 R.P.M.100 R.P.M. 

Reserve Emergency Power.15 %.30 % 

Cruising Radius (in days).33 .100 

Cruising Radius (in miles).10,296..31,200 

Daily Fuel-Consumption (loaded).38 tons.12 V 2 tons 

Consumption per I.H.P. hour.0.95 lb.0.30 lb. 

Lubricating-Oil consumption per day.7 gallons.12 gallons 

Fresh-Water Carried (including for 

Boilers).150 tons.50 tons 

Daily Fuel-Consumption in Port.3 J /2 tons. 1% tons 

Engine-room Staff.23 men.17 men 

♦Annual Wages (Machinery-Staff Only).. .$22,500.$20,820 

Total Ship’s Crew.49 Men and 43 Men and 

Officers Officers 

First Cost of Ship.$1,400,000.00.$1,540,000.00 

First Cost of Ship per Cargo-Capacity-Ton .$175,65.$172.54 

First Cost of Ship per D.W.C. Ton.$150.00.$161.68 

* American scale. The loaded displacement of both ships is the same. 
















































TYPES OF VESSELS 


9 


II 

Sailing Craft 

Sailing craft have always been an important part of the mer¬ 
chant marine of the United States and, at the present time, 1921, 
nearly a million and a half gross tons of our shipping are pro¬ 
pelled by sail alone, or by sail and motor. The high cost of fuel, 
frequent delays in bunkering, and the added cost of the engineer¬ 
ing crew, make the sailer an economic factor in the carriage of 
cargo overseas. Bulk cargoes, lumber, and, in fact all non- 
perishable goods are easily transported by sail over the long 
routes where trade wind conditions make for speed almost equal 
to that of the slow tramp. Sailing craft have increased in size 
and today we have the five masted bark France , the largest 
sailing craft afloat. She flys the French flag and is the logical 
outcome of the many years of consistent development of long 
voyage sailing ships and sailors , by the French Government. 
The France displaces 10,500 tons and carries a deadweight of 
7,500 tons. She is 430 feet over all and 55.8 feet beam, and 
spreads 75,000 square feet of sail. The France has averaged 
17 knots for a days run; her crew consists of fifty-five men.* 

* The American clipper ship Sovereign of the Seas , as recorded by Captain 
Arthur H. Clark in his Clipper Ship Era, is supposed to have attained bursts 
of speed up to 19 knots, making an average days run of 17 2 /3 knots on March 
18, 1853. She did this with a sprung foretopmast, fished by the crew. Her 
complement was 105 men and boys, eighty of these were able seamen , not 
counting the officers, a Master and four Mates, two boatswains, two carpenters, 
and two sailmakers. She carried under three thousand tons dead weight. 

Other fast runs under sail, all of them in excess of the above, and all made 
by American built ships, are the following: 

Ship James Baines , Black Ball Line, January, 1855, when running the 
easting down, bound out to Melbourne, day’s run—420 knots. 

Ship Donald McKay , Black Ball Line, Feb. 27, 1855, Boston to Liverpool, 
on her maiden voyage, day’s rim—421 knots. 

Ship Lightening , Black Ball Line, March 19, 1857 when running the 
easting down bound out to Melbourne, day’s run—430 knots. 

This same ship, on her maiden voyage, Boston to Liverpool, logged the 
world’s record day’s run on March 1, 1855—436 knots. 

The ship James Baines hung up the world’s record for hourly speed. The 
following is from her log book: 

“ June 17th. (1856), Lat. 44, S., Long. 106, E., ship going 21 knots with 
main skysail set.” The James Baines sailed under British colors. 


10 


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TYPES OF VESSELS 


11 




At the present time the rig coming into favor with Americans 
is the four and five masted barkentine, a good rig for working 
to windward and reasonably able in going before the wind. 
These craft are generally fitted with twin screw motors. 

The problem of the present day of large ships and small crews 
is set forth by a very able sailor, Captain C. T. Larsen of Seattle, 
quoted in an excellent article by Mr. Fred. B. Jacobs, in the 
Marine Review of Aug., 1920, on the economic status of sailing 
craft. Captain Larsen’s observations follow: 


“ In a very large sailing ship, the sails and rigging are too 
heavy for economical operation. The larger the sail is, the more 
difficult it is to take in during a gale and it often blows away. 
Again, it is much easier to get charters for the smaller vessels. 
Where a large steamer will take a cargo for half a dozen different 
ports, this procedure would not pay with a sailing ship on account 
of the extra expense and loss of time in moving from port to port. 

“ I do not think it would prove economical to carry the 
enormous spread of canvas that the old-time clipper ships did. 
A vessel would be compelled to carry an ab¬ 
normally large crew and the extra sails and gear 
would be comparatively expensive, making the 


Too much can¬ 
vas expensive 


Sailers 

economical 


extra cost of operation more than offset the gain in speed. 

“ For certain trades it is more economical to operate sailing 
vessels than steamers. The lumber trade from the Pacific 
coast to Australia furnishes a good illustration 
because the prevailing winds are such that a sail¬ 
ing vessel can make good time. Some of the 
schooners and barkentines on the Pacific make excellent running 
time, up to 14 knots an hour. In the barkentine, Koko Heady 
while I was master, we made 336 miles one day and on the 
following day 305 miles. We also made the passage from Cape 
Flattery to Delagoa bay in 85 days, from Delagoa s , 

Bay to Newcastle, N. S. W., in 30 days and from —— 
Newcastle to Kahului, T. H., in 36 days. 

“ Aside from the cannery ships operating on the Pacific coast, 
going to Alaska in the spring and coming back in the fall to lay 
up all winter at San Francisco, there are not many square-rigged 
ships or barks operated on the Pacific. There are, however, 
quite a number of barkentines and, in my opin- T , 

ion, the barkentine is the best rig of all. It offers - 

a large spread of canvas to run with when the wind is aft and 
it also has the advantage of fore-and-aft sails when the wind is 
abeam, or forward of the beam. 











12 


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TYPES OF VESSELS 


13 


“ In considering the various types of deep water vessels, it 
is found that each kind possesses certain advantages. A square- 
rigged vessel can spread a lot of canvas in a fair wind and with 
the wind abeam or aft of the beam she can make good time, often 
outsailing a tramp steamer for days at a time. The square 
rigger is also a good heavy weather ship. To be sure it takes a 
smart crew to make and take in sail because there are so many 
sails to handle. On the other hand, a square rigger will often 
run for days at a time in favorable trade winds without letting 
go a single sheet. 

“ To do her best, the rigging of a square rigger, and this 
applies particularly to the standing rigging, must be kept set up. 
Her bobstay, martingale stay and martingale Must keep 
back ropes must be taut enough to keep the head- • set up 

stays taut. The strain in turn being taken by the - 

backstays, the entire rigging is taut which keeps the spars in 
place. Let the lanyards on the backstays work loose and the 
whole standing rigging gives every time the ship pitches. This, 
of course, brings an enormous strain on the spars. 

“ In considering the sails of a square rigger, if they are sheeted 
home properly and the yards correctly braced, the spars do not 
have a change to give to any extent as the ship pitches. To be 
sure, the sails may slat against the masts in light Advantages of 

airs, when a heavy sea is running, but the fact square r i g - 

that the entire running and standing rigging is - 

adequately braced against the strains brought about by the 
motion of the ship, is a point decidedly in favor of the square 

rig. 

“ The square rig, on the other hand, possesses some dis¬ 
advantages. In the first place, nowadays it is a hard problem 
to find enough able-bodied seamen to man a Square rig 
craft of this type properly. This accounts for the disadvantages 

fact that many a square rigger loses half her can- - 

vas before a green crew is broken in. Again, it requires a 
comparatively large crew to handle a square rigger. Further, 
a square rigger will not make good headway when sailing on 
the wind. Many of them will not lay up within seven points. 
No square rigger will lay closer than six points and even then 
her speed is retarded as it is impossible to keep her sails full at 
all times, due to the pitching caused by head Qn the wind 
seas striking her weather bow. To be sure, in - 
the old clipper ship days, bowlines were rigged to haul out the 
weather leaches of the sails. However, the modern square 
rigger seldom steadies out bowlines as it is too much bother. 
Again it must be remembered that the bowlines must be let go 
and steadied out again every time the ship is tacked. This calls 
for a larger crew than the modern square rigger generally carries. 









14 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 





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TYPES OF VESSELS 


15 


“ The large number of sails and yards on a square rigger 
make her difficult to handle in coming about as all the yards 
must be hauled. With the helm alee and the L number 

head of the ship within about a point and a half 0 j sails - 

of the wind, if the order ‘ mainsail haul’ is given - 

and carried out just at the right moment, the yards will swing 
of themselves, as any deep water sailor knows. And if a good 
run is made with the braces, they can be run difficulty Q f 

nearly sharp up on the other tack on one run. j ac ^i~ q - 

With an inexperienced crew, if the run is left - 

until the ship’s head is in the wind, the sail is becalmed and 
before it can be got sharp up, the wind on the other bow will cause 
a dead haul. This looks easy on paper but with the small crews 
allotted to modern square riggers it is a man’s job. 

“ Sometimes, when the wind shifts suddenly, a square rigger 
is caught all aback, that is, the wind is bearing on the forward 
part of the sails. Then the ship must be boxed shi p taken 

off which calls for good judgment. Sometimes - 

she refuses to box off in which case the officer - 

on watch must proceed as if he were staying ship. 

“ Just imagine for a moment what it means to handle a square 
rigger on a night as dark as a ‘ score of black cats ’ and it is 
readily seen where seamanship of the highest Long shi p s hard 

order is required. Modern square riggers are to hand \g - 

not as easily handled as the shorter clippers of - 

half a century ago. These ships could be brought about in heavy 
weather when under doubled reefed topsails and courses; 
that is, if the sea was not running too high. Modern s hip s 
Present-day ships will not come about when must —— 
under shortened sail and for this reason it is h0tnn , inpn fhor 
necessary to wear them around. - 

“ About the only advantage possessed by a bark over a ship, 
assuming that in both cases the vessel is a 3-master, is that the 
bark can be handled by a smaller crew. The The bark needs 
spanker and the gaff topsail, being fore-and-aft sma u er crew — 

sails, take care of themselves in tacking. The - 

barkentine possesses a decided advantage in the opinion of 
many seamen over a bark or a ship in that it is easily handled, 
owing to the absence of a large number of square sails. Again, 
a barkentine possesses practically all the advantages of a 
schooner for working to windward with the added value of square 
sails for running free. 

“ The principal advantage of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel is 
that it is quite easy to handle in tacking ship. With the fore- 
and-aft rigged craft, she is in her safest position Advanta ges of 
with her head near the wind. There is no j ore and a j ter 
danger of being caught aback in tacking or - 


2 


















may be made somewhat laxgey and aye geneyally fitted with special yeef bands. Consideyable laboy is saved when the top - 
sails aye dispensed with. Foy a motoy schooney it seems to be a success. Foy sailing alone the yegular schooney appeays 
the bettey yig. Most foye and aft sailoys name the afteymast sail the spankey. The following method of naming the masts 
of a five mastey is coming into favoy: Foye, Main , Middle , Mizzen , Spankey. 











































































TYPES OF VESSELS 


17 


through a sudden shift of wind. This rig possesses its dis¬ 
advantages, the principal one of which is wear 
and tear on the sails. It must be remembered P lsadvanta 9 es 
that the gaffs are comparatively heavy and that when the vessel 
is pitching in a heavy sea, without making much headway, the 
slatting of these heavy spars throws an enormous strain on the 
sails and masts. Again, fore-and-aft sails require much atten¬ 
tion in reefing as they are more liable to be split than are square 
sails. This, of course, happens through the earings and points 
not being properly tied. It is an easy matter for an inexperi¬ 
enced man, or an indifferent seaman, to make a mistake of this 
kind on a dark night. The fact that a fore-and-aft rigged vessel 
can be handled by a small crew, however, has caused this rig 
to become popular on this side. 

“Fore-and-aft riggers are not in common use in European 
waters due to the fact that continental navigators favor square- 
rigged craft. Thus, for small craft the brig, 
brigantine and hermaphrodite brig are favorite —' opean 
rigs. Topsail schooners are sometimes used in P ractlce 
European waters, however, although this rig is seldom seen on 
this side of the Atlantic or on the Pacific. A topsail schooner may 
carry a fore topsail and fore topgallant in addition to her fore- 
and-aft sails. The advantages of this rig are that the square 
sails give a comparatively large spread of canvas for running. 

“ The coming sailing vessel of the future, however, is the 
auxiliary; no matter what her rig may be. A vessel fitted with 
crude-oil engines, placed aft for convenience, 
offers a decided advantage to navigators and one ~~. - com ^ n9 
that is beginning to be appreciated. Internal ?. aillng Vessel 
combustion engines take up a certain amount of hold space, to 
be sure, but the advantage gained through being able to make 
headway in all kinds of weather should not be undervalued. 
When a dead beat to windward is encountered, instead of sailing 
500 miles to make 250, all that is necessary is to start the engines 
and plow ahead right in the wind’s eye. Again, in light airs, 
the engines can be used to advantage in decreasing the port-to- 
port time. If the vessel should happen to be dismasted, the 
engines are there to be called into service. If anchored near 
a lee shore with no chance of ratching off—start the engines.” 

Captain Larsen’s able summing up of sailing craft is given in 
this part of Standard Seamanship so that a correct understanding 
may be had of the present status of saiL Many authors dismiss 
sail with a few sad words of farewell. They simply jettison a 
subject that none but sailors may write about with authority. 

The reader is referred to Chapter 19 —Handling A Sailer , for 
further information on the subject. 







18 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Barkentine, Brig Brigantine 



Three Masted Schooner Topsail Schooner 



Ketch Yawl Sloop 

Standard types of sailing craft. 


























TYPES OF VESSELS 


19 


III 

Tonnage 

The tonnage measurement of vessels is determined in a 
number of ways depending upon the manner in which the meas¬ 
urement is intended to be applied. The different tonnage 
measurements are tabulated as follows: 

Gross Tonnage 

Net Registered Tonnage 

Under Deck Tonnage 

Deadweight Capacity 

Displacement 

Power-tonnage 

Equipment-tonnage 

Gross Tonnage , is the internal capacity of the vessel, ex¬ 
pressed in units of 100 cubic feet. This unit is based on Moor- 
som’s system of ship measurement in which the “ ton ” is 
arbitrarily figured at 100 cubic feet. 

Net Registered Tonnage, sometimes referred to as Registered 
Tonnage, or the Net Tonnage, is arrived at by deducting from 
the gross tonnage the spaces taken by boilers, engines, shaft 
alleys, steering apparatus, chain lockers, chart house, officer’s 
quarters, crew forecastle, and other spaces not available for the 
carriage of passengers or cargo.* 

Net tonnage is used in computing harbor and port dues, 
canal tolls, and other tolls, except pilotage, where the draft is 
usually the unit of measurement in computing charges. 

Under Deck Tonnage is somewhere between the Gross and 
Net tonnage measurement. It is the tonnage, by 100 cubic feet 
increments, measured below the second deck from below, that is 

* A great part of the ancient commerce between France and England con¬ 
sisted of cargoes of wine carried in great casks, or tuns. The carrying 
capacity of different vessels was expressed in this unit, ultimately corrupted 
to ton. The weight of a tun of wine was approximately 2,000 lbs. 

An exceedingly interesting paper, “ Rules for the Calculation of Tonnage 
and Their History, ” by Lieut. Commander Carl H. Hermance, U. S. N. R. F. 
may be found in the Proceedings of the U. S. Naval Institute, March, 1920. 
And, by the way, all Naval Reserve Officers should belong to the U. S. Naval 
Institute. The dues are $3.00 per year. The Proceedings are published 
monthly and are of exceptional professional interest. Address, the Secretary, 
Annapolis, Maryland. 


20 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


tonnage below the tonnage deck . This deck is the upper deck 
in vessels having not more than two decks, and the second 
deck from below in vessels having three or more decks. 

The U. S. Navigation Laws require that all spaces deducted 
from the gross tonnage be marked certifying to their use, such as, 
“ Certified for steering gear; ” “ Certified for engine space; ” 
“Certified for accommodation of Master;” “Certified for 
stowage of sails,” etc.* 

Certification legends must be permanently cut in a beam over 
the door leading to the respective places.f 

Deadweight capacity is the actual carrying capacity of the 
vessel. It is the most sensible means of comparing cargo ships. 
It is simply the weight of the cargo the vessel can carry. In 
passenger craft, the deadweight carrying capacity varies through 
wide limits, depending upon the proportion of the vessel given 
over to cargo holds. Weight of fresh water, bunker fuel, stores 
and crew is included in figuring deadweight tonnage.{ 

* The rules for the measurement of ships, to obtain the gross and net 
registered tonnage are lengthy and without the scope of a work devoted to 
seamanship. The reader who wishes to follow the subject of ship measure¬ 
ment further is referred to the following: 

Measurement of Vessels, Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 
The change for this is ten cents—it is very complete. 

Instructions Relating to the Measurement of Ships, British Board of 
Trade, London. 

Reglement de Navigation dans le Canal Maritime de Suez. 

Simpson’s The Naval Constructor gives concise rules governing the 
measurements for register tonnage, deductions for engine room, etc., and the 
subdivisions for measuring tonnage sections. 

White’s Manual of Naval Architecture , also gives detailed information on 
tonnage laws and measurements. This is an important subject and plays a 
large part in the ultimate design of merchant vessels. 

t “ Every documented vessel of the United States must have the figures 
denoting her tonnage deeply carved, or otherwise permanently marked, on 
the main beam. If the number cease to be so marked she shall be subject 
to a fine of thirty dollars on every arrival in a port of the United States while 
left unmarked.” R. S. 4153, Sec. 5. 

t Though 100 cubic feet of space are allotted to the ton in computing 
tonnage, in ascertaining freight charges based upon the bulk of the cargo, 
forty cubic feet only are allowed. This is the space occupied by a ton of good, 
close stowed steaming coal, and is not far from that required for a ton of 
average cargo. 

A cargo ton is estimated either by weight or by measurement. 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


21 


Displacement is the actual weight of the entire vessel and all 
that is in her. Displacement varies with the draft. This ton¬ 
nage is figured in long tons (2,240 lbs.).* 

Light displacement is the weight of the vessel with holds and 
bunkers empty. 

Heavy displacement is the displacement when a vessel is 
completely loaded, cargo and bunker spaces filled, and vessel 
down to her deepest mark. 

The tonnage of men of war is generally given in terms of 
displacement with normal coal and ammunition and other sup¬ 
plies on board. 

Displacement in salt and fresh water varies, that is the 
amount of water displaced is more in fresh than in salt water. 
Thirty-five cubic feet of salt water weigh one long ton, and 
thirty-six cubic feet of fresh water also weigh one long ton. 
This gives rise to the greater draft of vessels in fresh water. 
A vessel loaded to her marks in fresh water will lift clear when 
coming into salt water, that is she can actually carry more cargo 
on a salt water voyage when loaded to the same draft. 

The following rule is useful in this connection and should be 
remembered. Consider river water as weighing 63 lbs. per 
cubic foot, while salt water weighs 64 lbs. per cubic foot. 

Therefore a vessel can be loaded to her marks in river water, 
and one sixty-fourth (by weight) added to her cargo. This will 
submerge her marks, but on entering salt water she will lift to 
her marks due to its greater density. That is, if 6,400 tons 
have been put on board, and the vessel is down to her marks, 

* The weight ton in the United States and in British countries is the English 
long or gross ton of 2,240 pounds. In France and other countries having the 
metric system a weight ton is 2,204.6 pounds. 

A measurement ton is usually 40 cubic feet, but in some instances a larger 
number of cubic feet is taken for a ton. Most ocean package freight is taken 
at weight or measurement (W/M), ship’s option. Roughly speaking, the tons 
of cargo that can be carried by a freight steamer can be obtained by multi¬ 
plying the net tonnage by 2.5. 

For a modem freight steamer the following relative tonnage figures would 
ordinarily be approximately correct: net tonnage, 4,000; gross tonnage, 6,000; 
deadweight carrying capacity, 10,000; displacement loaded, about 13,350. 

— U. S. Shipping Board Bulletin. 


22 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



t-? 

<D t3 — 

IJ„ S 

.Si 

a o 


Displacement scale for a 2,100 ton vessel 







































































TYPES OF VESSELS 


23 


100 tons more can be added if she is to go from fresh to salt 
water.* 

The displacement measurement is most useful in the loading 
and trimming of vessels through the use of the Displacement 
curve and the Tons per Inch scale. All modern steamers are 
supplied with this curve and scale and from it the weight of the 
vessel can be taken by reading the draft, fore and aft, taking the 
mean, and setting it off on the scale. 

To arrive at the displacement of a merchant vessel with a fair 
degree of accuracy estimate the block coefficient (if not known) 
that is the ratio of the volume of the ship under water to the 
volume of a block having length, breadth, and depth, equal to 
the length, beam, and draft of the vessel under consideration. 

The following block coefficients or coefficients of fineness, are 
given by Biles, in Design and Construction of Ships: 


Very full cargo vessels up to 8 knots.85 to 9 

Full cargo vessels up to 12 knots.8 to 85 

Large cargo vessels up to 12 to 14 knots.76 to 82 

Intermediate cargo and coastwise vessels.65 to 7 

Fast Atlantic Liners.6 to 65 

English Channel passenger steamers.5 to 6 

Battleships.6 to 65 

Cruisers.48 to 55 

Sailing vessels.6 to 72 

Yachts (sailing).3 to 52 


Walton in Know Your Own Ship puts it this way with regard to 
estimating the coefficient of fineness, and, as estimating is more 
or less a matter of intelligent guess work, we give his directions: 

* Example: A ship having 1,200 tons displacement, 12' 6" mean draft in 
sea water, and 6 tons per inch immersion at this draft; what would be her 
draft in fresh water? 

First find volume displacement in fresh water, which is 1,200 X 36 = 43,200 
cu. ft. From this, subtract volume displacement in sea water, which is 
1,200 X 35 = 42,000 cu. ft. 43,200 - 42,000 = 1,200 cu. ft., which is 
volume of layer or water plane between fresh and sea water drafts. 

As the tons per inch immersion at this draft are 6; then the change in 
draft in inches = 1 /q X 1,200 36 = 5.5 in.; 5.5" + 12' 6" = 12' 11.5 

draft in fresh water. 

—From The Naval Artificer's Manual, U. S. Naval Institute. 











24 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


.8 (coef. fineness), would be a very full vessel. 

.7 to .75, an average cargosteamer. 

.65, a moderately fine cargo steamer. 

.6, a fine passenger steamer. 

.5, an exceedingly fine steamer, but an average 
steam yachts. 

.4, a very fine steam yacht. 


for 


Let us figure the displacement tonnage of a vessel, taking our 
dimensions as follows.—Just to make it easy: 

Length 600 feet 
Beam 60 “ 

Draft 30 “ 

Our vessel is a large craft carrying passengers and cargo 
and we will assume her block coefficient to be .7. 

Then we have the following calculation: 

600 X 60 X 30 
35 


•7 X 


= 26,600 + (approx.) tons displacement, 


35 being the cubic feet of sea water to a ton. 

Power-tonnage is the sum of the gross tonnage and the indi¬ 
cated horsepower of the engines. This measurement was 
devised to provide a comparison between vessels for the purpose 
of determining their importance. It is sometimes used in 
allotting salary schedules for American Merchant Marine officers. 
A vessel of ten thousand gross tons and five thousand I.H.P. 
would be rated as of 15,000 power-tons. Also a craft of five 
thousand gross tons and ten thousand I.H.P. would be a 15,000 
power-tons craft, the commands being considered of equal im¬ 
portance and entitled to the same rate of pay.* 

* {Figures are inclusive) 

Classes Single Screws Twin Screws 

A. Over 20,001 Over 15,001 

B.12,001 to 20,000 9,001 to 15,000 

C. 7,501 to 12,000 5,501 to 9,000 

D. 5,001 to 7,500 3,501 to 5,500 

E. Below 5,001 Below 3,501 

Vessels are classed according to their “ power-tonnage,” represented by 
gross tonnage plus indicated horsepower as given in the latest “List of 
Merchant Vessels of the United States,” compiled by the Commissioner of 
Navigation. 








TYPES OF VESSELS 


25 


Equipment tonnage. The Equipment Tonnage of a ship is 
that tonnage arrived at from certain dimensions given in the 
Classification Society Rules which take into consideration the 
exposed surfaces both above and below water, and is used 
primarily to determine the size of anchors, chains, and hawsers. 

Equipment tonnage very closely approximates the gross 
tonnage in most ships of ordinary construction. 

IV 

Linear Dimensions 

Other ship dimensions are often subject to confusion through 
careless use of terms. The following principal measurements 
are defined: 

Length over all 

Length between perpendiculars 

Length, registered 

Length for tonnage 

Length by A.B.S.* Rules 

Length on load water line 

Floodable length 

Depth moulded 

Depth by A.B.S. Rules 

Depth registered or Depth of Hold 

Breadth moulded 

Breadth registered 

Draft — Freeboard—Load Line 

Length over all is the distance between the forward and after 
extremities of the hull. 

Length between perpendiculars is the distance from the for¬ 
ward side of the stem to the after part of the rudder post. When 
the stem or rudder post are raked, the measurement is taken 
through the intersection of the upper deck, or in the case of 
an awning decked vessel, or one with a shelter deck, the inter¬ 
section of the second deck with the fore part of the stem and 
the after part of the rudder post. 

When the stem is bent, as in a clipper bow, the straight middle 
part is extended up to meet the line of the deck from which the 
measurements are taken. 

* A.B.S. American Bureau of Shipping. 


26 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Length registered is the distance from the fore part of the 
stem, under the bowsprit, if any, to the after side of the head of 
the sternpost. 

Length for tonnage is measured in a straight line along the 
tonnage deck from the inside of the inner plate at the bow to the 
inside of the inner plate at the stern, making allowance for the 
rake, if any, which the midship bow and stern members may 
have in the actual deck. 

Length by A.B.S. Rules. The length is the distance in feet 
on the estimated summer load line, from the fore side of the 
stem to the after side of the rudder post; where there is no 
rudder post the length is to be measured to the center of the 
rudder stock. 


Upper Deck 


Middle Deck 


lower Deck 


Three Deck 
Vessel 


J-Ji— 


Spar Deck 



Spar Deck 
Vessel 


A wning Deck 


Awning Deck 
Vessel 


i 3 
i tx 


I 


Length on load water line is the distance from the front of 
the stem to the after part of the rudder post, on the load water 
line. 

Floodable length is the extreme length of compartment that 
can be flooded and the vessel still remain afloat with decks 
almost awash. Under the rules for bulkhead spacing a margin 






























TYPES OF VESSELS 


27 


of safety must be allowed. This margin of safety is called the 
permissible factor, and the factor varies with the length of ship. 
A vessel 571 ft. long, has a permissible factor of 0.5, which 
means that the permitted length of each hold is only half the 
floodable length. In such a ship there are two compartments 
watertight in the floodable length. 

Depth moulded is the distance from the top of the keel, or 
intersection of the outside of the frames with the center line, 
measured amidships, to the level of the top of the upper deck 
beam at the gunwale, or of the second deck in the case of awning 
and shelter deck vessels. 

Depth by A.B.S. Rules , (D) is the molded depth in feet, 
measured at the middle of the vessel’s length on the estimated 
summer load line, from the top of the keel to the top of the deck 
beams at side from which the freeboard is estimated. In cases 
where watertight bulkheads are carried to a deck above the 
freeboard deck and it is desired to have them recorded in the 
register as effective, D is to be taken to the bulkhead deck. 

Depth registered , or Depth of hold is distance amidships from 
top of double bottom, or top of floors, or from a point 2.5 inches 
above these points where ceiling plankings if fitted, amidships, 
no matter what its thickness, to the top of the upper deck beams, 
or second deck beams in awning or shelter deck vessels. 

Breadth moulded is the greatest breadth of hull measured 
between the outer surfaces of the frames. 

Breadth registered is the greatest breadth measured outside 
of the shell plating. 

These measurements are usually taken in feet and tenths. 

Draft. The draft is taken 
at the bow and stern. The 
draft numerals must accur¬ 
ately cut or painted on both 
sides of stem and stern post. 

Numerals are 6 inches high. 

The base of the numeral rest¬ 
ing on the even foot. Inches 
are estimated by eye. Roman 
numerals are better marks, 

but ordinary arabic numerals are less easily mistaken. 


2T 

XXIS 

20 Ft 6 In. 

20 

XX 20 Ff 


Id Ft <3 In 


19.XIX 5 " 


Arabic Roman 













28 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Draft by A.B.S. Rules , (d) is the molded draft in feet from the 
top of the keel to the center of disc or summer load line. The 
draft to be used with the tables is not to be less than .66 the 
depth (D). 

Freeboard and Load Line. The freeboard of a vessel is the 
height of the side above water level, measured at the middle 
of the vessel’s length, that is at amidships from the top of the 
freeboard deck; the distance being determined in accordance 
with the Freeboard Tables. Under the British Regulations, the 
measurement is actually made from a line called “ statutory 
deck-line,” which is placed above the top of the freeboard deck, 
this modification being required by the British Merchant Shipping 
Acts.* As, however, the correction for the amount of statutory 

* “ The subject of loading of vessels is closely connected with the name 
of Samuel Plimsoll, who, as a member of Parliament, conducted in the 
early seventies of the last century a strong campaign for the fixing of load 
lines on vessels under the British flag. In Plimsoll’s opinion the unusual 
number of disasters at sea that had been occurring for years were due chiefly 
to the overloading of vessels, and he contended that Parliament should estab¬ 
lish a load line for every vessel. 

“ A royal commission, appointed to investigate the question, reported to 
Parliament in 1874 that the establishment of load lines could not be success¬ 
fully accomplished by law, since no rule of universal application could be 
applied without injury to British shipping. 

“ Parliament, however, did not accept the recommendations of this com¬ 
mission and passed an act known as the merchant shipping act of 1876, which 
provided that a circular disk, with a line drawn through the center, should be 
painted amidships on both sides of every British vessel, except those under 
80 tons register engaged in the coasting trade. This mark, which came to be 
known as Plimsoll mark, was to indicate the greatest draft to which vessels 
should be loaded. The fixing of the load line was in the first instance deter¬ 
mined by the shipowner, but it was the duty of the Board of Trade to see that 
no overloaded vessel cleared from any British port. 

“ This indefinite method of procedure led to many disputes which were, in 
the course of time, settled by the general acceptance by the Board of Trade 
and shipowners of load-line marks fixed according to the reserve buoyancy 
tables of Lloyd’s Register. 

“ No further action was taken in regard to this subject until 1890, when it 
was decided that the matter of load lines should be placed upon a more definite 
and scientific basis. Accordingly, in that year the load-lines act was passed. 
This act provided that the load lines should be marked in accordance with 
regulations provided by the Board of Trade, and that the position of the disk 
should conform with the tables fixed by the load-line committee. This act was 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


29 


deck-line is added on to the freeboard, as calculated from the 
table, the general definition given above is correct in practice. 

The method of marking directly from the deck is used by the 
American Bureau of Shipping, which has officially adopted the 
British Freeboard Tables as the basis of its freeboard assign¬ 
ments. Further, as this particular requirement of the Merchant 
Shipping Acts in regard to the statutory deck-line has no appli¬ 
cation in this country, the American Bureau has been left free 
to adopt this somewhat simpler method of marking. 

The loadline of a vessel is the draft to which the vessel is 
immersed when weighted down to the various markings on the 
sides, placed there in accordance with the requirements of the 
Freeboard Tables. The reserve buoyancy of a vessel is meas¬ 
ured by the volume of the enclosed, or water-excluding, portions 
of a ship which come above the load water line. This amount 
depends upon the form of the upper structure of the ship and 
varies according to the draft to which the ship is immersed. . . . 



Plimsoll Mark for Steamers (arrow points forward) 

FW = Fresh Water. 

IS = Indian Ocean in Summer. 

WNA = North Atlantic in Winter (October to March inclusive ). 

S = Summer in waters other than the Indian Ocean. 

W = Winter in waters other than the North Atlantic. 

All except the first of the above symbols indicate the maximum depth 
in salt water for the corresponding oceans and seasons . 

reproduced in the merchant shipping act of 1894, sections 437 to 443, and pro¬ 
vision was made for its modification by the Board of Trade without reference 
to Parliament.”—From Navigation Laws, Special Agent Series No. 114, 
Department of Commerce, Washington. 



30 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The question of freeboards is primarily a question of safety of 
life at sea. Safety of ships and cargoes, and protection of the 
interests of shippers and underwriters are important in them¬ 
selves; but it is the business of the Government to see that no 
special interests of one section of the community are served at 
the expense of any other section. Commercial and political 
ends must always be made subservient to the bigger considera¬ 
tions involved in the protection of human life and the Govern¬ 
ment owes it to its citizens to provide adequate legislation for 
the protection of the lives of those who go to sea. 




Plimsoll Mark for Sailing Vessels 
F = Fresh Water. 

WNA = Winter in North Atlantic. 


The responsibility which rests upon a Government in this 
respect cannot be delegated elsewhere. Only the Government 
can hold the balance between the selfish interests of those who 
might be tempted to send ships to sea in an overloaded condition, 
at a risk to the lives of those on board. 

The modern cargo ship loads, let us say from 30 to 40 tons 
per inch of immersion at the load water line. An extra foot of 
draft will, therefore, mean that the ship carries 360 to 480 addi¬ 
tional tons of cargo, unless the owner is prevented from doing so 
by restrictions imposing on the vessel a definite maximum draft 
established by an independent and impartial authority. 

The freeboard of a vessel depends upon a good many fac¬ 
tors, among which are the following: Type of vessel, strength 
of hull and houses, sheer of deck, trade of vessel, time of year. 
Freeboard markings are placed on vessels by the American 
Bureau or Lloyds Register (if desired by the owner in this 
country), and their ruling should be followed, as a formula based 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


31 


on depth may not take into account the vessel’s peculiarity. 
Associations such as The New York Underwriters’ will often 
limit the draft. For full information about the British Board of 
Trade freeboard see pamphlet ‘ Freeboard Tables ’ published 
by them. An article by H. A. Everett published in the April, 
1917, issue of Marine Engineering will be found very interesting. 

We quote from it as follows: 

“ The American Bureau formerly published a suggested free¬ 
board allowance which in the cases of the ordinary cargo steamer 
will give a freeboard roughly one foot greater than that assigned 
by the Board of Trade. An abstract of this table is given below: 


Depth of Hold from Top of 
Ceiling to Underside of 
Deck (Main Deck), 
Feet 


Freeboard at Lowest Point of 
Sheer for Each Foot 
Depth of Hold, 

Inches 


8 

12 

16 

20 

24 

28 


1 % 

2 Vi 

2 % 

3 

3 Vi 

31/2 


“ ‘ Hurricane deck vessels having no water ports fitted at the 
second deck, also raised quarter deck vessels, may have less, 
but suggest that hurricane deck vessels have not less than one- 
half and quarter deck vessels not less than three-quarters of the 
freeboard in the table. The depth of hold and freeboard to be 
measured from the second deck in hurricane deck vessels. . . .’ 

“ The following formula will give approximately the freeboard 
for an ordinary cargo vessel of over 20 feet depth, having a 
normal sheer, the freeboard being measured from the weather 
deck: 

“ Freeboard = .40 depth — 6.0 (feet) 


“ Depth = depth from top of keel plate to weather and strength 
deck (foot units).” 


V 


Propelling Machinery 

The power plant of a mechanically propelled vessel is of such 
vast importance in the handling of the ship that a work on sea¬ 
manship must at least enumerate the various kinds of power 
now being employed at sea. Further study by deck officers is 
highly desirable and many excellent books are to be had in this 
field. 


32 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Steamers may have their power plants conveniently divided 
into two components, the steam making apparatus, and the 
steam using apparatus, or into simply boilers and engines. 
Further classification is of course necessary. 

Boilers can be divided as follows: 

Fire tube boilers. Water and steam surrounding tubes, fire 
led through tubes and headers. The principal forms of the fire 
tube boiler are the following: Scotch boiler; Vertical boiler; 
Locomotive boiler; Leg, or flue and return tube boiler. 

Water tube boilers. Water circulating inside of tubes, fire 
and hot gasses surrounding these tubes, steam collected in 
suitable drums, etc. The principle forms under which water 
tube boilers may be classified are the following: Large and small 
tube boilers; Straight and curved tube boilers. By the position 
of the tubes, viz., inclined , or horizontal; by the arrangement 
of the tubes, viz., in groups , or as single tubes; by the position 
of the upper ends in regard to water level, viz., into drowned 
tube and priming tube , boilers. In the drowned tube the end 
is below the water level, while the priming tube extends above 
the water level. By the arrangement of the circulation, as 
single tube , or double tube boilers. 

The above statement will show that water tube boilers are 
capable of a great many variations in form. There are many 
boilers of this variety, combining different parts of the above 
classification and known by trade names. The water tube boiler 
roughly consists of steam drum or drums, on top, tubes, and 
bottom drums to supply the tubes with water. Surrounding 
these tubes and drums are the fires placed on suitable grates, 
and the hot gasses are made to be more effective by baffles and 
headers . 

Further classification of the steam making part of the ship’s 
power comes through the use of different fuels, namely coal, and 
oil, also a combination of coal dust and oil, known as colloidal 
fuel , and the method of burning, viz., Natural draft or Forced 
draft* 

* The imperative need for increased supplies of liquid fuel, particularly 
for naval purposes, has prompted American engineers to investigate the prob¬ 
lem of incorporating solid and liquid fuels in such manner that the resultant 
mixture can be handled and utilized as ordinary oil fuel. The work was 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


33 


Engines using steam may be classified as follows: 

Reciprocating engines. Compound; triple, or quadruple ex¬ 
pansion, the steam passing successively through, two, three, or 
four cylinders, gradually increasing in size before exhausting 
into the condenser. The pressure of the steam is used in high 
pressure, 1st intermediate, 2d intermediate and K>w pressure 
cylinders, in the quadruple expansion type. 

Turbine engines in which the velocity of the steam, issuing 
from nozzles, and impinging against guides and blades , causes 
the direct rotation of the shaft upon which the turbines are 
mounted. As in the case of reciprocating engines, the steam is 
sent from one casing to another, gradually increasing in size, 
where its expansion is utilized. 

Turbines in slow or medium speed vessels are only efficient 
when rotating more rapidly than is efficient, or possible, for a 
propeller immersed in water. For this reason the high turbine 
speeds must be reduced by suitable reducing gears attached to 
the propeller shafts. To go astern special backing turbine blades 
are brought into action, these are mounted on the same shaft as 
the going ahead blades. 

Another power plant that has been tried is the combina¬ 
tion of high pressure reciprocating cylinders, the lower pressure 
steam exhausting through them to low pressure turbines. This 
utilizes the smaller high pressure cylinders with their direct 
action against the shaft, and avoids the large low pressure 
reciprocating parts while using the smaller low pressure turbine 
principle. This type is no longer used because of the improved 
design of reducing gears. 

Electric drive is used where steam driven turbines turn 
electric generators or dynamos. The current is then led aft to 
motor units attached direct to the propellor shafts. This system 
has proven extremely flexible and efficient on vessels of the 
United States Navy and lately merchant vessels are also using 
this form of machinery. It seems now to be the last word in oil 
burning steam plant propulsion.* 

carried out under the auspices of the Submarine Defence Association with the 
assistance of the United States Navy Department, and the results are of im¬ 
portance as they promise not only conservation of oil fuel, but also utilization 
of low-grade solid fuel. This combination is called Colloidal Fuel. 

* The merits of the electric-drive system as applied to naval capital ships 
are well stated by Admiral C. W. Dyson, chief of the design division of the 


34 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Motor ships: —The thermal efficiency of the steam engine, no 
matter how refined we may make it, will always be low, and 
the work delivered at the propellor per ton of coal, or oil, burned 
is shamefully small when compared with the theoretical heat 
energy contained in the fuel. 

The internal combustion engine is making its way rapidly 
because of its greater economy both in space and fuel. Boilers 
are dispensed with, and the moving parts are less cumbersome 
per horsepower developed. With the coming of these engines 
we have the motor ship. 

Motor power plants may be simply divided as follows: 

Heavy oil engines such as the Diesel , and the hot-bulb engines 
depending for ignition on their high compression, the pressure 
developing heat sufficient to ignite the charge. Such engines can 
operate on practically any kind of oil fuel.* 

Bureau of Steam Engineering, Navy Department, in the May, 1917, issue of 
the Journal of American Society of Naval Engineers. It will be seen that 
many of the advantages stated apply as well to merchant vessels. 

1. Greatly increased torpedo protection for ships. 

2. Greater flexibility in machinery arrangement. 

3. Better and wider separation of important units. 

4. Minimum lengths and diameters of steam pipes. 

5. Reduced heating of vessel from steam pipes. 

6. Better centralization of power. 

7. Fewer bulkheads pierced by steam and feed piping. 

8. Reduced engine room complement. 

9. Elimination of danger from fractures of piping due to shells striking 

protective deck. 

10. Greater ease in control. 

11. Greater flexibility in power distribution. 

12. Better maintenance of economy through a wide range of powers. 

13. No metallic contact between rotor and stator of motor. 

14. Eliminates all dangers of disarrangement due to shaft vibration, when 

the helm is put hard over. 

15. Maximum reduction in length of shafting. 

16. Increased backing power. 

* The mode of compressing air and injecting fuel into it for combustion, 
peculiar to the Diesel engine, is responsible for a very low fuel consumption, 
compared to automobile engines on the one hand, and also as compared to 
steam machinery on the other. This fuel oil consumption is equivalent to 
nearly 35 per cent, thermal efficiency for the Diesel engine, the actual weight 
of oil consumed depending somewhat on its quality. 

—Dr. C. E. Lucke, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, 

Columbia University 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


35 


Gasolene and kerosene engines, with electrical ignition, on 
the principle of the automobile engine. 




Motor Ship 


Sketches show relative space occupied by machinery and bunkers. 

Producer gas engines. Gas is generated from coal, or coal 
dust and the gas so generated is used in an internal combustion 
engine. 



































































































36 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


We are in the very beginning of the development of the in¬ 
ternal combustion engine. Chemical power, whether released 
through heat explosion, or by other means, may be the basis for 
future power at sea.* 

The turbo-generator sets, of steam, sending the current aft 
to the shaft motors through great copper cables, may be soon 
displaced by motor-generator sets, gas driven, and effecting a 
further saving in bunker and boiler space. 

All deck officers should study the development of ship power 
plants. 

VI 

Classification 

The whole business of overseas trade is stabilized through the 
financial machinery of insurance. The sea will always claim a 
certain number of victims. Vessels founder, go ashore, collide 
with each other, or with ice or derelicts, catch fire, boilers ex¬ 
plode, cargoes shift, and a thousand perils beset them on every 
hand. It is the purpose of good seamanship to so manage 
vessels that such happenings are reduced to a minimum, that 
vessels in danger are not abandoned until all hope of saving 
them is gone. 

But when losses do occur, as they always will, insurance steps 
in and pays the loss to the individual out of the general fund 
contributed by all. 

But the insurance underwriter must not take undue risks. 
He must have a reasonable assurance of the seaworthy quality 

* The possibility of combining in one engine the superior thermal cycle at 
the high temperatures and pressures of the combustion engine with the low 
thermal cycle of steam to deal with its rejected heat, and, in the same engine, 
to add the superior working advantages of the steam engine, is the basis of 
work carried out by Mr. W. J. Still. 

The Still engine is an engine capable of using in its main working cylinder 
any form of liquid or gaseous fuel hitherto employed; it makes use of the 
recoverable heat which passes through the surfaces of the combustion cylinder, 
as well as into the exhaust gases, for the evaporation of steam, which steam is 
expanded in the combustion cylinder itself on one side of the main piston, 
the combustion stroke acting on the other side. It increases the power of 
the engine, and reduces the consumption of the fuel per horsepower devel¬ 
oped.—From a paper by Mr. Frank D. Acland, Royal Society of Arts, May 26, 
1919. 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


37 


of the vessel he is insuring. The vessel must comply with 
certain rules of construction, and also, of course, with the navi¬ 
gation laws of the country from which she hails, and in certain 
respects, with the laws of the countries with which she trades. 

Rules of construction, setting down the minimum require¬ 
ments as to size, strength and position of the various parts of a 
hull, of the rigging, ground tackle, etc. of modern vessels are 
formulated by the various classification societies. 

The American Bureau of Shipping , recognized by the U. S. 
Government as the official classification society of the United 
States, has set up such rules, and inspects and surveys vessels. 
These rules are based upon long experience and tests under sea 
conditions, interpreted by scientific methods. 

The ratings given vessels by the A.B.S. are a safe guide for 
the placing of insurance on hull and cargo. 

The classification society also is the greatest safeguard against 
loss of life at sea through faulty construction, or poor equipment. 

The following extract from the “ Conditions of Classification ” 
of the Rules of The American Bureau of Shipping, are of interest 
to the seaman: 

“ (1) Vessels which have been built under the special super¬ 
vision of the Surveyors to the Bureau, in accordance with Plans 
approved by the Committee and the requirements of the Rules, 
or with alternative arrangements equivalent thereto, will receive 
Certificates of Class. In each case a written application must 
be made for Classification to the Secretary, or to the Surveyor 
for the district in which the vessel is to be built, from whom the 
necessary application forms may be obtained. Vessels which 
are approved for trade in any part of the world will be distin¬ 
guished in the Bureau’s Record Book by the symbol ^ A.I., 
signifying the Highest Classification of the American Bureau of 
Shipping and Special Survey during construction of the Hull. 
Vessels intended for trade in any part of the world but which 
have not been built in accordance with the requirements of the 
Rules for the Highest Classification, will be distinguished in the 
Bureau’s Record Book by the symbol ^ A.l. ‘ With Free¬ 
board,’ it being a condition of the Classification of such Vessels 
that minimum Freeboards will be assigned by the Committee. 
Vessels intended for a particular trade which have been built 
to scantlings specially arranged and approved by the Committee 
for that trade, will be distinguished in the Bureau’s Record Book 
by the symbol ^ A.l. followed by the necessary limitation of 


38 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


trade: For example * River Service; ’ * Coasting Service; * 

‘ Tug Service; ’ ‘ Fishing Service; ’ ‘ New York-Boston; * etc. 

“ Machinery and Boilers which have been built under the 
special supervision of the Surveyors to the Bureau and in accord¬ 
ance with the requirements of the Rules, will receive a Certificate 
of Class; such machinery will be distinguished in the Bureau’s 
Record Book by the symbol ^ A.M.S., signifying the Highest 
Classification of the American Bureau of Shipping and Special 
Survey during construction for Machinery and Boilers. 

“ The letter © placed after the symbols of classification, thus: 

A.l. ©will signify that the Equipment of the vessel is in 
compliance with the requirements of the Rules. 

“ In cases where the Equipment is not in compliance with the 
requirements of the Rules, a dash will be substituted for the 
letter © thus: ^ A.I.— 

“ (2) Vessels which have not been built under the super¬ 
vision of the Surveyors to the Bureau but are submitted for 
Classification will be subjected to a Special Classification Survey, 
as set forth in Section 46. Certificates of Class will be granted 
if the Hull, and in case of Steam Vessels, the Machinery and 
Boilers, are found satisfactory and are approved by the Com¬ 
mittee ; the symbols in the Record Book will be as described in 
Paragraph 1, but the mark ►£< signifying Special Survey during 
construction will be omitted.” 

From the “ Conditions as to Surveys ” we take the following: 

“ The Special Periodical Surveys on Classed Vessels must be 
carried out at intervals of four years from the date of build, or at 
such shorter intervals as may be fixed by the Committee in 
special cases, or from a date six months after launching in the 
case of a new Vessel, not completed within that period. Such 
Surveys may, if desired by the Owners, be carried out within 
twelve months prior to the date when they become due, provided 
the subsequent interval between Surveys does not exceed four 
years. . . . 

“ Owners will receive notice of the dates when the Special 
Periodical Surveys become due, but it must be understood that 
the responsibility for non-compliance with such notice rests with 
the Owners, or their Representatives.” 

The Record of American and Foreign Shipping, is published 
by the A.B.S. on the first of January of each year and corresponds 
to the Register published by Lloyds. 

The oldest of the British societies is Lloyd’s, an associa¬ 
tion of marine underwriters and surveyors taking its name from a 
coffee house kept by Mr. Edward Lloyd in Tower Street, London, 


TYPES OF VESSELS 


39 


during the seventeenth century, where owners, underwriters 
and shipmasters came to transact business.* 

Without the classification societies merchant shipping would 
be in an uncertain condition. Seamen who note the condition 
and performance of their vessels under the severe tests of actual 
stress, and who make intelligent reports on their behavior, add 
greatly to the knowledge necessary to the naval architect and 
designer. 

“ In practice, the arrangement and massiveness of the various 
parts are simply that which long experience of the strength and 
endurance, displayed in active service by vessels of different 
sizes and type, indicates as the minimum compatible with these 
qualities. ... It is mainly due to . . . classification societies 
that this experience, extending over the whole history of wood, 
iron, and steel shipbuilding, and which otherwise might have 
been lost, has at all times been carefully recorded, interpreted, 
and made available to all in the annual publication of their rules 
of construction and tables of scantlings.”—Holms’ “Practical 
Shipbuilding .” 

* The principal classification societies are as follows: 

American Bureau of Shipping. 

Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping. 

Bureau Veritas, Paris. 

British Corporation, Glasgow. 

Imperial Japanese Maritime Corporation. 

Norske Veritas. 

Registro Navale Italiano. 

Germanischer Lloyd. 

Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Assuradeuren. 

Veritas Austro-Ungarico. 

The societies assigning load line marks identify their marks by two letters 
over the horizontal line and on each side of the disc (see page 256). The 
markings used are as follows—A. B.—American Bureau of Shipping; L. R.— 
Lloyds Register; B. V.—Bureau Veritas; B. C.—British Corporation; N. V.— 
Norske Veritas; G. L.—Germanischer Lloyd. 






CHAPTER 2 


THE HULL 

I 

Steel Construction 

Steel vessels form the greatest percentage of the world’s 
tonnage. The names and purposes of the component parts of a 
steel hull should be familiar to the seaman who is charged with 
the use of the structure as a whole, when maneuvering the ship, 
and with its parts, while working cargo, handling ground tackle, 
etc. He should therefore have a very precise knowledge of the 
formation, use, location and names of the various members 
entering into the construction of the ship. 



Within the last quarter century great advances have been 
made in ship construction. Mild steel is now used in the 
majority of seagoing vessels and the various shapes of this 
material have practically become standard. Differences in 


40 



THE HULL 


41 


design are brought about by different combinations of the 
standard shapes. The standard shapes are also varied in a 
great number of sizes and weights. These are illustrated by 
typical sections that can easily be identified by inspecting the 
construction of a modern steel vessel. 

These shapes are 

A, the plate, of many sizes and weights. 

B, the angle, plain and bulb, (B') with legs of various length, 

and of many weights. 

C, the T bar. 

C', the T bar with bulb. 

D, the I beam. 

E, the channel. 

F, the Z bar. 

In the construction of vessels of extreme size, steel of high 
tensile strength is introduced where necessary in order to keep 
down weight, as in the sheer strakes, amidships, in liners of 
great length. 

In addition to the above standard forms of construction certain 
special forms of material are often employed, such as half 


mam % © W ® ’ w ’ ^ 

Special forms 


rounds, rods, angle bars, columns, hatch ledges, and some 
others. These rolled shapes, together with special forgings and 
castings form the component parts of a steel hull. 



lj_ jl x n 

Built up sections of standard forms. 



Many combinations of these standard forms are possible and 
special columns, beams, frames, boxes, and the like are formed. 

The angle bar is generally employed in the construction of 
the framing of a vessel, as shown in the illustration. The 
outer angle is the frame , the inside angle, riveted to it, is the 








42 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




F 



PLAN 

Joint of Deck 
Beam and Frame 


reverse frame. The shell plating is rivete 
to the outboard flange of the frame. 

The shell plating constitutes the oute 
plating of the hull and corresponds to th 
planking on a wooden vessel. It is places 
on the hull in long strips, called strokes , an 
these are combined in various ways, over 
lapping, edge to edge, and in single an 
double layers. The principle forms of shel 
plating are illustrated in the sketch. 

The strakes on the bilge taper in breadth 
being wider as the hull widens out amid 
ships. The topside strakes are usualb 
parallel, or nearly so. To avoid narrowing 
certain strakes are discontinued at som< 
distance from the ends of the vessel. P 
strake, so discontinued is called a droj 
stroke , and the strake taking the plac< 
of two drop strakes and continuing then 
is called a stealer. 



In and Out 
System 



Single 

Joggled 


Double 

Joggled 




Butt Straps 


Liners or Shell Packing shown- 


Types of shell plating 


The various forms of material constituting the hull are gener¬ 
ally fastened together by means of rivets, though some progress 


















































THE HULL 


43 



Hammered 


Countersunk 


has been made in fastening 
steel parts together by the 
process of electric welding. 

Riveting, however, is still the 
standard form of fastening, the rivets being heated red and 
driven while workable through heat. The standard shapes of 
rivets are shown. The swell neck form is best for ship work 
as it fills the holes better. The head of the rivet is formed on it 
before driving, the point is formed in the process of driving, 
which may be by hand, or by some form of power hammer. 

Tap rivets are really screws worked in where rivets cannot be 
driven. 

The distance between the centers of rivets is known as the 
pitch . In fastening together parts of a ship the strength of joint 

desired, the thickness of material, 
and the shearing strength of the 
rivets is considered in determin¬ 
ing the pitch. Rivets may be in 
either single or double shear as 
shown in the sketch. The shear¬ 
ing stress on a rivet is, as the name 
implies, the stress tending to shear 
the rivet in two, or three parts. 

The shell plating, deck plating, hatch coamings, and bulk¬ 
heads must be watertight, as also must be the tanks, and to 
secure this desired water tightness caulking is resorted to. 



—f—i 




_► 


Single Shear 




Double Shear 



'LapJoint 'ButtStrap 'ButtJoint 


Caulking baulked 
s°°/' /J^RivefHead 



Caulked Lap Joint 1 


In the case of a steel vessel this consists in bending down one 
part, or edge, in close contact with its neighbor, as shown in the 
sketch, rather than in ramming caulking material in between, 
as oakum is rammed into the seams of a wooden ship. Rivet 
heads that show leakage are also caulked, but this is not con¬ 
sidered good practice, such rivets, if discovered in the course of 
construction, should be backed out and new ones driven. 

Butt joints are caulked as shown in sketch. 






























44 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


II 

Transverse Construction 

This system follows the ancient method of building up ribs , 
or frames, resting transversely on a keel, and connected, across 
their tops and middles by beams , the whole structure bound 
together by longitudinals called stringers , the ends of the vessel 
consisting of the stem and stempost, generally large forgings. 
All enclosed by plating on the outside of the hull, and deck 
plating over the beams. 


Forecastle Deck 
Beams 

-i UpperDeck Beams, 



Panting _ 

Beams 


Frames 

lower Deck Bearni 


" Reversed Frames 

- Side Stringer 
"Bilge Stringer 
- - Riddle Line Keelson 
Keel 


Forward Framing 


This is the simplest description of what is, in fact, a very 
complicated structure embracing many parts, of a great variety 
of form in different vessels. The parts of a vessel can best be 
studied by an inspection of the vessel itself, having recourse to 
the drawings. It is well to know the exact name and use of 
every part of a ship; no one who wants to be a finished sailor 
should content himself with less knowledge than this. 

It is best to first study the combination of the parts of the 
structure, as a whole, noting their relation to each other, and 
then to learn the construction and use of the many members 
making up the hull of the vessel. 

Transverse section of various types of vessels are helpful in 
further study of the vessel and its parts. 
















THE HULL 


45 


The location of tanks in the double bottom and the arrange¬ 
ment of beams in the hold of a three-decked vessel is shown in 
the accompanying illustrations. 


Ill 


Parts of Hull 

The principal parts and fittings of the hull will now follov^ 
with a brief description of each part named, given in alphabetical 
order. 


Stern frames 


Poop Deck Beams 


Poop Frames 



Stern Tube 


Propeller Post 1 'Floors /fee/'' - 

After Framing 


UpperDeck 

Beams 

■Stuffing Bor 
Bulkheads 


Reversed 
Frames 

''Side 
Stringer 
'Bilge Stringer 

' - Middle Line Keelson 


Accommodation ladder. A ladder extending down the outside 
of the hull, steps perpendicular to the side of the vessel. This 
is usually the gangway ladder for the accommodation of passen¬ 
gers, and is swung from a small' davit , the upper end being 
hinged to a gangway platform. It is fitted with extensions, when 
the vessel is light and with middle platforms in vessels of high 
freeboard. 

Awning stanchions. Stanchions at the rail used to support 
the rope jackstays and other devices for the spreading and sup¬ 
porting of the awnings. 

Beam. An athwartship member of the framing, supporting 
the decks. Beams are fastened to the frames by knees, as shown 
in sketches and are one of the most important elements in the 
strength of the vessel. 

Beam knee. A type of special beam enlarged where it is 
riveted to the framing. 

















46 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Belaying pin. A wooden or metal bar slipping in a hole in 
pin rail for belaying gear. A square (oblong section), 

a pin is called a cavil. 

Bent plate washer. A bent plate used in con¬ 
necting a bar keel to the garboard strake. 

Bilge. The rounded portion of the hull—or holds— 
between the bottom and the sides of the vessel. The 
bilge is somewhat indefinite, but is used in the nam¬ 
ing of many parts of the structure, such as bilge keels 
(on the outside to prevent rolling), bilge keelsons (on 
the inside for added strength) and for the description 
of dunnage placed in the bilge, to keep cargo clear 
of bilge water , that may lie in the bilge when the 
vessel heels over. 

We also have bilge stringers; bilge blocks (under 
the bilge when the vessel is in dry dock); bilge 
Belaying pumps; and a vessel is “ bilged ” when a hole is 
Pin stove into her bilge or bottom. 

Block, or block coefficient (also coefficient of fine¬ 
ness) , is the decimal fraction representing the volume of the un¬ 
derwater body of the vessel, taking her, “ Block ” that is product 
of length, beam and draft, as unity. 

Bobstay. A short stay from the end of the bowsprit, to the 
stem. Most vessels have three or four, made of chain. 

Boiler stool. A heavy bracket resting on the tank tops, floors 
and keelsons. Supports the boilers. 

Bollard. Cast steel, or iron cylindrical 
shapes, bolted to the decks, usually also 
to the deck beams. Serve a similar 
purpose as the bitts fitted in wooden 
craft. Hawsers led through the mooring 
pipes in the bullwarks , are made fast to the bollards. Bollards 
are sometimes cast with a removable cap, screwing up and down, 
and serve to ventilate compartments below. 

Bolsters. Curved pieces of wood, resting on trestle trees 
over which the shrouds are laid, prevent short nips and chafing. 

Booby hatch. Wooden cover over a small hatchway, usually 
aft, fitted with a sliding or hinged cover and used as a com¬ 
panion, or for hoisting in and out small stores. 

Boom. General term for the spars used in hoisting cargo, 
and coal. The term derrick is sometimes used when referring 
to these spars. 

Bosom piece. Short angle or butt strap used in joining the 
ends of angle bars. 

Boss. The central casting of a propellor into which the tail 
shaft is bolted and to which the blades are bolted, or cast. 

Bossing. Shell plating bent to fit around the propellor shaft, 
doing away with the need of struts in a twin screw vessel. 


n n 


Bollards 






THE HULL 


47 


Boundary plank. Planking built around metal structure 
which extends above the deck, and against which the wood¬ 
decking is laid, usually of hard wood. Teak is often used for 
this purpose as it is not discolored by rust. Also called Margin 
plank. 

Bow frame. The most forward frame in ships not fitted with 
a bowsprit. When a bowsprit is fitted it is called a knighthead 
frame. 

Bow port. Small square port in the bow of a vessel, to allow 
the stowage of long pieces of timber. Only used in vessels 
having a single hold, usually in wooden sailing craft. 



Midship section, heavy construction 

Bowsprit. A spar extending forward over the bow. Rests 
on the stem, to which it is secured by bands or lashings called 
the gammoning , the heel being wedged in the knightheads y 
some distance aft of the stem. It is stayed by the bobstaysy and 
bowsprit shroudsy and extends and takes the stress of the fore 
staysj hove through bees to the stem. 

3 
















































48 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Box beam. A built-up beam in the form of a box girder. 

Bracket. A small plate used to connect various parts, such 
as deck beams to frames, frames to margin plates, etc. 

Breaching. The Y-shaped pipe which connects the boilers to 
the funnel. 

Breakwater. Structure built on the forward deck to protect 
hatchways, and companion ways from the seas. 

Breast hook. Horizontal framing fitted in the bow to give 
strength to the structure and support the shell plating against 
heavy blows. 

Bridge. The structure from which the vessel is managed and 
navigated. The central bridge contains the steering apparatus, 
lookout stations, and navigating accessories. Docking bridges 
are sometimes fitted far forward and aft. 

Bridge piece. The upper connection of a stern frame. 

Bulkhead. Generally a partition aboard ship anywhere, ex¬ 
tending athwartship or fore and aft. 

The following bulkheads will be specifically named— after 
peak bulkhead; to prevent inrush of water in the event of a 
break in the propellor shaft. Collision bulkhead , placed well 
forward as a safeguard in the event of collision. The main 
bulkheads dividing the holds, reserve bunkers, and engine room 
spaces. 

Bulkhead fittings— doors } usually three feet high and two feet 
wide, watertight, and operated by hand or by quick closing gears 
from above or below. 

Bulkhead deck , the deck to which bulkheads extend. 

Bulkhead sluice , a small opening in a bulkhead for the purpose 
of drainage and which may be closed from the deck. 

Bulkhead stiffeners , angles, or webs and angles, riveted to a 
bulkhead to stiffen it. 

Stepped bulkhead , one in which the upper part does not come 
vertically over the lower part. Often met with in adjusting the 
machinery and bunker spaces. 

Wash bulkhead , a partial bulkhead in tanks, usually fore and 
aft, to prevent the surging of water, or oil when a tank is only 
partly filled. 

Bunker. A compartment used for the stowage of fuel. 

Pocket bunker , a conduit for passng coal from between deck 
bunkers to the firerooms. 

Reserve bunker , usually forward and next after the forward 
holds, extending athwartship. On short runs can be used for 
cargo. 

Wing bunker , bunkers situated in the wings, abreast of the 
boilers. 

Cabin. General term for living quarters of officers and 
passengers. 


THE HULL 


49 


Camber . The rise or crown of a deck above a horizontal line 
connecting the ends of the beam. 

Cant frame. A frame not perpendicular to the fore and aft 
line of the keel. 

Capstan. A vertical revolving drum, spool shaped, and fitted 
with pawls. Whelps , or ridges on the drum prevent wet lines 
from surging. Capstans are power driven but may also be 
operated by man power by the use of capstan bars fitting into 
pigeon holes in the capstan head. 

Cargo battens. Planking cleated or bolted to the reverse 
frames, in the holds and between decks, to protect cargo from 
contact with the steel plating and frames. 

Carlings. Short beams or girders, similar to headers, used 
to support the end of a deck beam where it is cut for hatch open¬ 
ings, mast holes, etc. 

Cat head. A short heavy projecting knee at the bows fitted 
with sheaves, and used for securing an old fashioned anchor. 
It also serves as a support for jibbom guys on sailers. 

Ceiling. The wooden flooring on the tank tops, also the inside 
lining of a wooden ship. 

Cellular double bottoms. The construction of double bottoms 
in which longitudinal or intercostal plates and the transverse 
floors, subdivide the space into small compartments or cells. 

Center girder. The center line girder connecting the keel 
and keelson of a steel built vessel. 

Chain locker. A deep compartment forward, either immedi¬ 
ately forward or aft of the collision bulkhead, for the stowage, 
by gravity, of the anchor chains. The chain locker is usually 
divided into port and starboard lockers by a wooden bulkhead. 

Checkered plate. Used in engine room flooring, ladders, etc. 

Cheek plates. The plates riveted at the mast head to form 
the hounds , which support the trestle trees , these, in turn sup¬ 
porting the fid , which passes through the heel of a fidded top¬ 
mast. (See Chapter 6.) 

Chocks. Heavy metal fittings through 
which hawsers, or lines may be led. Also 
the seats or saddles of boats, of wood or 
metal. On shipboard a chock may be 
anything that is used to wedge or chock A Chock 

up weights carried on deck or in the holds. 

Circulating pump. The large pump which circulates the cool 
sea water through the condenser. 

Cleanout door. A door near the bottom of a furnace to allow 
the cleaning out of cinders and ashes. 

Clearing plug. The plug screwed into the bottom of a trap 
in plumbing fixtures, removed when trap is to be cleared. 





50 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Cleat. A ship fitting used for the be¬ 
laying of ropes. 


Coaming. The plating around a hatch 
or skylight. 


A Cleat 


Coffer dam. Space between two water 


tight bulkheads, located close together. (See Chapter 11.) 

Collision chocks. Heavy brackets fitted fore and aft of boilers 
and connected to floors and framing. Intended to take up 
impact in the event of a head-on collision. 

Columns. The vertical pillars in between decks and holds, 
of various forms, and either stationary or removable. 

Companion. The entrance and stairway leading from a 
weather deck to the cabin space below, or from the topgallant 
forecastle to the forecastle. 

Compartment. A subdivision of space is a ship. 

Compensation. The increase in strength of members to 
make up for ports, and the doubling of plates around hatch¬ 
ways, etc., to compensate for loss of area in deck plating. 

Composite vessel. Generally understood to be a vessel built 
of metal framing and wood planking. The upper plating may 
be of steel and the underwater body planked and coppered. 
The Schoolship Newport is of this construction. 

Cross head. The casting at the rudder head connecting it 
to the hand steering gear. 

Davit. The crane or cranes used in hoisting and lowering 
ship’s boats. Use also is made of an anchor davit , in stowing the 
old fashioned anchor which is brought on board the forecastle 
head. A davit is used to sling the companion ladder. 

Dead eye. A solid circular block, usually of lignum vitae 
through which lanyards are rove. Used in setting up stays, 
shrouds, etc., where turnbuckles are not fitted. Generally 
restricted to use in wooden vessels. (See Chapter 6.) 

Deadrise. The vertical distance between the point where 
the slope of the vessel’s bottom intersects the moulded breadth 
line and the base line. (See page 62.) 

Deck. The plating or planking over the beams, corresponds 
to the flooring in buildings ashore. 

Flush deck , running fore and aft with no breaks. 

Forecastle deck y short deck on forecastle. 

Poop deck , short deck on poop. Other decks take the names 
from the structure covered, such as bridge , etc. The decks in 
the body of a vessel are as follows—from the top down: 


Bridge deck 
Boat deck 


Main deck 
Lower deck 
Orlop deck 


Promenade deck 


Shelter deck 
Upper deck 


Lower orlop deck 




THE HULL 


51 


The American Bureau of Shipping designates decks as follows: 
the “ Freeboard Deck ” then 
(going down) second deck; third BridQe Deck Bridge 

deck, fourth deck, etc. 

Deflection. The amount a 
beam, or column, sags or springs 
out of line under a load. 

Derrick. Alternative term for 
a cargo boom. 

Derrick post. Corresponds to 
a mast, or king post, except that 
the derrick post may revolve 
about its axis. 

Diagonal ties. Bands of steel 
running across from one side of 
a vessel to an other at an angle 
to the deck beams. Used to 
stiffen the decks of sailing craft. 

Diamond plates. Diamond 
shaped plates connecting the 
web frames to the side stringers. 

Act as brackets, stiffening the 
frame of the vessel. 

Diaphragm. A web plate 
placed between two members in 
the structure of a vessel and 
used to stiffen them. 

Dog. A bent metal fitting 
with handle used to close doors, 
manhole covers, etc. 

Donkey boiler. Every seago- Names of Decks 

ing vessel carrying passengers 

must be fitted with a donkey boiler of sufficient capacity to work 
the fire pumps , wireless if need be, etc. The donkey boiler 
shall not be placed below the lower decks. The donkey boiler 
is an emergency boiler and is used in port to supply steam to 
winches, heating system, etc., when the main boilers are cold. 

Edge strip. A narrow strip of metal (buttstrap) placed under 
the joint in shell plating laid flush. 

Escape holes. Small man holes in the deck, remote from 
hatchways, used for trimmers to get out of bunkers after filling 
bunker with coal, also used to fill remote corners of bunkers 
with coal. 

Expansion bend. A bent section of piping to allow for ex¬ 
pansion and contraction without causing leaky joints. Used in 
deck steam lines, etc. 


imriiiiiiiniii in.—--- 


Boat pr- 
Deck Jp 

mini .... 

Promenade Deck 



-■— 

A.B.S.Designations 
Superstructure Deck 
unrnnmp..— 

ShelterDeck 

Freeboard Deck 

nm mn i;i,unn - ;.. 


Upper Deck 

? n - d Deck 

nnniiim.il... 


Main Deck 1 . 

3 rd Deck 

- — ^|| 

Lower Deck 

4-Deck 

~ 

Orlop Peck 



-. 

■Pi. 


.,1,1,1.11111^ 




































52 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Expansion plans. Developments of the shell plating and 
framing of the ship showing the size and mark of every plate 
and frame including bottom and sides. This makes the drawing 
look distorted, being correct in length but expanded in breadth. 
Very useful things to have on board, in the event of damage to 
plates or frames while away from home. 

Eye bolt. A bolt formed with an eye in the head. When 
a ring is fitted into the eye, it is known as a ring bolt. Heart- 
shaped rings are sometimes fitted when the bolts are used for 
passing lashings. 

Eyebrow. The semicircular or triangular iron placed over a 
port to prevent rain from dripping into it. Also called a wriggle. 

Fabricated ship. A steel ship built or “ fabricated ” in 
different shops on standard plans, and assembled in the ship- 
ward. This plan of shipbuilding was first carried on with marked 
success by the Submarine Boat Corporation on Newark Bay, N. J. 

Factor of safety. The ratio between the ultimate strength 
of a piece of gear and the allowed working stress. 


Ultimate strength 
Working load 


= Factor of safety 


Fairlead. Small rings of l;gnum vitae or metal through which 
lines are rigged to keep them clear. 

Faying surface. The surface of plates that comes in contact 
with other plates, or framing. All holes should be punched from 
the faying surface to insure a close fit when the plates come 
together. 

Fid. A heavy rectangular steel pin fitted through the heel 
of a fidded topmast, or topgallant mast, and upon which the 
mast depends for support. The ends of the fid rest on the 
trestle trees. 

Fiddley. The open grating around the funnels of a steamer. 
A favorite roost for soldiers y during cold weather. 

Flaws in steel. Blisters , raised projections on the surface, 
caused by gases getting under the skin of the metal. 

Blow holesy cavities in steel caused by air and gas. 

Brittleness , lack of ductility caused by phosphorus. 

Crystallization , caused by fatigue (steel gets tired) from 
repeated overloading, pounding, etc. Must look out for this in 
cargo hooks, shackles, chains, etc. When such parts fracture 
the presence of crystallization can often be noted. 

Internal stresses , caused by improper working of temperature, 
and lack of annealing. 

Piping , hollow center in steel bars, caused by shrinkage while 
molten. 

Red shortness , ragged appearance on edges of steel plates 
caused by too much sulphur in the steel. 

Vents , same as blow holes. 



THE HULL 


53 


Floor , the lower portion of a transverse frame. Usually a 
vertical plate extending from center line of keel to bilge, and 
from inner to outer bottom plating. 

Fore and afters. The longitudinal pieces over a hatchway, 
supported by the strongbacks (cross beams). The center fore 
and after is usually of steel, the fore and afters between this and 
edge of coaming are usually of wood. 



Forecastle. The forward part of the hull, usually raised above 
the main deck, formerly used as quarters for crew. Pronounced 
“Fo’c’sle” (Foksill). 

Fore foot. Point of the stem where the keel rounds up to 
meet the stem piece. A broad fore foot is called a club foot. 
Paravanes , used to sweep up mines, attach to the fore foot. 

Fore peak. The compartment or tank just within the bow and 
forward of the collision bulkhead. 

Foundation plate. Heavy plate upon which the keelson rests. 

Framing. The skeleton of the vessel. 


























54 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Frame , knighthead , first frame in bow of a vessel carrying a 
bowsprit. 

Frame liners , filler plates placed between frame and outer 
strakes in in and out plating. 

Frame spacing , for and aft distance between frames. 

Transverse framing , the usual framing of vessels, as described 
so far. 

Longitudinal framing , Isherwood System and Gatewood Sys- 
tem , much used in the construction of tankers. 

Freeboard. The height of the vessel out of water measured 
to various decks in various types of vessels. Freeboard depends 
upon the construction of the vessel, for instance, turret vessels 
are allowed to measure freeboard to the turret deck, while in fact 
their breadth of hull may be almost submerged. (See page 28.) 

Freeboard marks. The Plimsol mark has become standard, 
and these loading marks are determined by surveys of the under¬ 
writers in American ships. (See Chapter I, page 29.) 

Freeing port. Large ports in bulwarks, usually on well decks, 
with gratings, or hinged ports to free the decks from water when 
shipping seas. Ten per cent, of bulwark area usually taken up 
by freeing parts. 

Funnel casing. Outside funnel, built around inside stack for 
strength and insullation. 

Furring. Wooden battens bolted to frames to hold cabin and 
store room lining planks. 

Galley. The kitchen of the vessel. 

Gangway doors , or port shutters. Large doors or shutters in 
the bulwarks hinged up and down or fore and aft, to admit gang¬ 
way ladders, or to clear the way for cargo skids. 

Girder. A deep beam. 

Goose neck. The usual fitting at the heel of a cargo or other 
boom, connecting it to the mast. (See Chapter 5.) 

Grain feeders. Reservoirs built just above grain holds to 
keep holds filled with grain and prevent shifting. Similar to oil 
trunks in tankers. 

Granulated cork. Used in coating inside steel work to pre¬ 
vent sweating. 

Graving piece. A short piece of plank, inserted into damaged 
plank of an old deck. Does not go down to the beams. Ends 
of graving piece usually pointed. (See page 922). 

Gudgeon. The sockets in the rudder post into which the 
rudder pintels ship. 

Gunwale. The upper side of a small boat. Sometimes 
used in connection with the fitting of vessels. Gunwale tanks } 
etc. 

Gutter. The depression at the edge of decks to drain off 
water to the scuppers. 


THE HULL 


55 


Hatches. The openings in the decks through which cargo, 
fuel, etc is passed. 

Hatch battens , narrow metal bars at the hatch coamings, 
resting against the tarpaulins 
and wedged tight by driving 
hatch wedges between the bat¬ 
tens and the hatch cleats in 
which they rest. 

Hatch covers , usually of 
heavy wood, sometimes of 
steel resting on rubber gasgets. 

Hatch tarpaulins , canvas 
covers extending over hatch 
and down side of coamings, 
and held in place by battens 
as described above. Usually treated to make them waterproof. 

Hatchway , the vertical 
opening under a hatch. 

Expansion hatch, the hatch 
over an expansion trunk. 

Hawse pipe. The pipes in the 
bow through which the anchor 
cables pass, and intowhich the 
stockless anchors stow. 

Hawser. A large rope used 
in working the ship, towing, 
tying up to a wharf, etc. 

Helm. Generally used with 
reference to the tiller, also 
thewhole apparatus by which 
the vessel is steered. 

Hold. A cargo carrying 
compartment in the body of 
the vessel. 

Hold beams. Beams in a hold, similar to deck beams but 
carrying no deck plating, they generally have no camber. 


L\ 



Usual form of hatch construction. 

A, wooden hatch covers. 

B, forward and after coaming. 

C, side coaming. 

D, steel strong hack. 

E, fore and after {steel). 

F, wedge cleats. 

G, hatch rim. 





Corner of hatch on a fabricated 
vessel 




Forms of ledges for hatch covers 

Hold-beam system. The placing of hold beams on every 
tenth frame to provide added strength. 









56 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Holding down bolts. Heavy bolts for holding down machinery 
on its beds. The main engines, plummer blocks, thrust bear¬ 
ings, winches, anchor engines, etc. 


Butt Strap, 

/ 

iMa'm Rail: 


Forecastle Rails . 
'Bulwark Stays 


rWindlass 


:Bow Chock 


UpperDeck- 
Upper Deck Beam-' 

Frames . 

Lower Deck 

LowerDeckBean 
Reversed Frame 
SideStringer —> 

Bilge Keelson 
Floors - 



Stem 


-Panting 
beams 


Middle Line Keelson' Keek' Scarph of Stem arid Keek 


Bow plating frames, etc. 


Hull. The body of a vessel. 

Hulk. Generally an abandoned or cut down vessel used for 
storage, etc , such as coal hulks. 

Hull efficiency. A decimal obtained by the following calcu¬ 
lation. 

Ship resistence X speed _ ^ 

Thrust X speed of propellor 


Hull number. A number assigned to a ship and with which 
all material entering the ship is marked to avoid confusion in 
assembling. 

Ice doubling. Extra plates in bow to reinforce against im¬ 
pact with ice. 

Insulation. The non-conduction material built into holds 
and compartments intended for the carriage of frozen or chilled 
cargo. Insullating materials are charcoal , sawdust , silicate of 
cotton , or slagwool , pumice in the form of fine gravel Felt 
and cow hair and balsa wood are also used. 

Inter costals. Be tween-the-ribs plates. Built in separate 
sections between the frames, beams, etc. Floors are con¬ 
tinuous and longitudinals are intercostal in the transverse 
system of framing. 

Jack staff. Staff at bow for flying jack; jack only used when 
not under way. 

Jib boom. Spar extending forward from the bowsprit. Only 
used in sailing craft. 

























































THE HULL 


57 


Joggle. Plates bent to fit over other work, or other plates. 
Keel. The backbone of the vessel. Of various forms. 
Usually flat underneath. Duct keel is a hollow box girder and 
carries longitudinal pipe system. 



Flat keel and keelson 



Keel bar , an exterior bar beneath main keel. 

Keel blocks , blocks built up under keel to support it while 
ship is building, or when ship is in dry dock. 

False keely a plate or timber bolted to outside of keel to pro¬ 
tect it and take up wear in case of grounding. 



Keelson. An inner keel extending above the keel inside of 
the vessel. Pronounced Kelson. 

Side keelsony a stringer between the outer bottom and the 
tank top and parallel to the keel. 

King post. A short steel post generally without stays, sup¬ 
porting minor cargo booms. Sometimes used as a ventilator. 





























































58 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Knee. A triangular or curved bracket connecting 
deck beams to the frames. 

Knuckle line. The intersecting line between the 
poop plating and the stern plating in a vessel having 
an overhanging counter. 

Lanyard. The heavy hemp gear rove through 
deadeyes, or hearts, in setting up stays and shrouds. 

Also of manila at the end of boat davit guys, for setting them 
taut. 

Lattice work. The diagonal members in an open or lattice 
girder or frame. (See Chapter 5—Lattice cargo boom.) 

Lightening holes. The circular, or oval, openings in floor 
plate webs to lighten the weight. Also used to lighten deep 
hatch strongbacks. 

Lignum vitae. A very hard dense wood used for bearing 
surface in tail shaft bearings, around pintles of rudders and for 
dead eyes, block sheaves, etc. 

Limber board. The line of ceiling next to the keelson or the 
margin plates in a steamer. This can be lifted and exposes the 
gutter next the keels, known as the limbers. 

Limber holes. Holes cut in floor plates close to the keelson, 
or margin plates, and next to the lower angle bars of the frames, 
to allow water to drain toward the pump suctions. 

Limber chains. Small chains running through the limber 
holes which can be pulled back and forth to keep them clear and 
allow for drainage to the pump suctions. 

Locking hoop. A collar in two halves, fitting around the top 
of the rudder stock. 

Locking pin. Any pin or key used in locking parts of machin¬ 
ery, such as the steel pin for locking the loose quadrant to the 
keyed tiller. 

Louvre. An opening in the side of a deck house fitted with 
inclined slats which keep out rain water and serve to ventilate. 

Lug pad. A projection carrying 
an eye, riveted to a bulwark or 
bulkhead or on deck. 

. Magazine. A compartment or 
room in which ammunition is 
stored. Fitted with means of 
flooding, and kept away from all 
fire. (See Chapter 9.) 

Manger. A dam built abaft of 
water washing into the hawse. 

Margin plate. The outer wing 
necting it with the shell plating at the bilge. 

Mast. The main upright spars of a vessel are called the 
masts. Generally set on the center line and slightly raked aft. 



Lug pads 

the hawse pipes to collect 
of the inner bottom, con- 



Knee 





THE HULL 


59 


Masts are now generally built up of metal in various sections, 
usually round. Some craft have square masts, in the shape of a 
box column. The masts of modern vessels are mainly placed 
for the support of cargo gear and are stayed against maximum 
cargo loads. Modern masts also find a use in the erection of 
radio apparatus, the carrying of the required lights, and as 
vantage points for lookouts. Very little sail is carried except in 
case of extreme emergency. A stout trysail and staysail equip¬ 
ment however would be a good insurance in the event of injury 
to engines, and might be of use in heavy weather under such 
conditions. Wood masts are solid, or built in sections and 
hooped. 

Mast cap , the massive metal ring fitting over a lower mast 
head and through which the topmast is secured to it. 

Mast coat , canvas coat fitted around base of mast where it 
passes through the weather deck to make the mast hole water 
tight. 

Mast doubling , the point where the lower and top mast 
parallel each other, also the top and topgallant masts. Also 
referred to the extra plating in built up steel masts. 

Fore mast , the forward masts, lower, top, topgallant royal 
and skysail. The highest mast carried by a steamer is usually a 
topmast. 

Mast hole , the openings in a deck through which the masts 
pass. 

Main mast , the second mast from forward, with upper masts 
as on the fore. 

Mizzen mast , the third mast from forward, etc. Other masts 
in the order of their number from forward are, Jigger , spanker , 
driver . Or, Fore y Main , Middle , Jigger , etc. 

Mast partners , carlings and extra framing around the mast 
holes. 

Mast pedestal , a frame work strongly braced, built over a deck 
on which a mast is stepped, when the mast cannot be extended 
down between decks. Also called a tabernacle. 

Pole mast , a mast made in one piece throughout, that is lower 
and topmast in one. Also the wooden pole topmast erected 
over a steel lower mast to carry radio antenna, lights, etc. 

Mast step , the structural frame into which the heel of the 
mast rests. Over the keelson in small vessel, otherwise in one 
of the between decks, or over the shaft tunnel in the case of a 
single or triple screw vessel of moderate tonnage. 

Mast wedges , the wooden wedges driven between the mast 
and the partners, to hold the mast rigid to the hull of the vessel. 

(For details of masts see Chapters V and VI.) 

Messenger. A chain or rope, used to transmit power from 
an engine to some windlass or capstan a distance away, or not 
otherwise directly connected. 





60 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Mooring pipes. The eliptical openings in the bulwarks, fitted 
with rounded edges for the use of mooring lines. 

Oil tight. Riveted and caulked to prevent oil leakage. Oil 
will go through joints where water is kept out. 

Outreach. The distance a cargo boom can reach out beyond 
the mast. 

Overhang. Portion of the hull extending beyond the water 
line fore and aft. 

Oxter plate. The shell plate of very sharp curvature con¬ 
necting to the sternpost. 


/On 


,-, N_so 

Collision Bulkhead—~> 

Paint 

-» -» i 


Sail and _|| 

BosonsStore j 

Side Stringer 

o 

Peak Tank _II 

Side Stringer 

N 

-T—T—T-T-T J! 

Panting Stringer 

s 

TT~r~r^ri — j] 



nmUJw 


Panting beams shown in cross section 


Panting beam, panting stringer. The beams and stringers 
reinforcing the frames forward, to take up the panting stresses, 
due to wave action. 

Parr all. A hoop, or tub, riding up and down the topmast, to 
support the upper topsail yard. Also fitted on other yards that 
hoist. 

Plummer block. The heavy structural supports carrying the 
shaft journals. 

Poop. The after elevated deck of a ship with a well deck aft. 

Usually carries the steering gear, 
and living quarters, for crew. 

Port. The left hand side of the 
vessel looking forward. Also open¬ 
ings in the hull or deck houses to ad¬ 
mit air, cargo, or coal. 

Blind port , a port fitted with a steel 
door closing flush with the side. 

Port light , the heavy circular glass 
closure framed with metal, that 
screws against the port openings in 
cabins and between decks. 

Dead lights , the steel discs that screw down over the port 
lights, securing against breakage of the glass, and shutting out 
light when necessary. 


Dead Light 


Port 



'Port Light 

Parts of a port 























THE HULL 


61 


Propeller. The screw that propells the vessel. 

Propeller arch , the arched part of the hull formed by the stern 
frame and under which the propeller is situated. 

Propeller post , forms the forward part of the stern frame. 
The after part of the stern frame is the rudder post. Above is 
the propeller arch, or bridge piece , and below is the sole piece , 
connecting the two posts and extending the keel to the foot of 
the rudder. 

Propeller shaft , or shaft, the heavy steel shaft that transmits 
the power from the engine to the propeller. 

Quadrant. The quadrantal shaped casting, keyed to the 
rudder head and to which the steering chains are attached. 
Sometimes the quadrant is toothed and the motion of the steering 
engine is transmitted to it by a worm gear, or by pinions. Many 
combinations of steering machinery are used but the quadrant 
is found in most of them. 

Quarter deck. Deck on a sailing ship aft of the mainmast. 

Quarter pillars. The pillars and stanchions half way between 
the center line and the side of the ship. 

Rabbet. The score in the stem and stern posts into which 
the shell plating butts. In wooden vessels the fore and aft 
hood ends of planking butt into rabbet in stem and stern post. 


[Moulding 


'Wheel-house 


Mooring Pipe* 
Side Lights^ i 


: Main Rail 


-Upper Deck 



Reversed Frames 
> -Lower Deck 


Semi Box 
~Orlop Beam 

MiddeLine 
' Keelson 

Floors 


Stern Bush- 


SternJube Bulkhead' // 
Propeller Stuffing Box - ' 
Boss Stuffing Box 6land' 


PlummerJilock 
'\Pedesta! 


''Keel 


After plating and framing 


Rake. The inclination of spars and funnels from the vertical. 
The inclination of a bowsprit from the horizontal is called the 
stave of the bowsprit. 

Rake bunkers. Bunkers in which one side is sloped. 

Rider plate. The foundation plate between a pillar and the 
center keelson. 


























































62 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Rolling chocks. Heavy brackets under the boilers and en¬ 
gines to take up the extra stress of rolling. 

Rose box. Also called strainer , or strum box y perforated 
boxes over the ends of the bilge suction pipes. 

Roundhouse. An erection from 6 to 8 feet in height on or 
above the upper deck but not extending from side to side of the 
vessel, as is the case with a bridge, a forecastle, a poop, or raised 
quarter-deck. For descriptive purposes on vessel documents, 
spaces not extending from side to side of the vessel, of less 
height, such as cabin heads or trunks, and closed-in spaces over 
the holds of motor boats, etc., may be classed as roundhouses. 

Rudder. The steering blade under the stern. 

Rudder arms , heavy steel arms running from the rudder 
stock across the sides of the rudder plate. 

Balanced rudder y a rudder pivoted so that the forward part 
balances the force of water against the after part when the helm 
is put over. 

Bow rudder , a rudder in a recess on the stem sometimes fitted 
to ferry boats and other craft. 

Samson post. Same as king post. Supports cargo booms. 

Scuppers. The drainage holes in the waterways on a deck, 
or on top of a deck house. Blind scuppers , drainage pipes led 
down inside the shell plating and out below the water line. A 
device used in yachts to avoid streaking the sides. 

Scuttle. A small square hatch used as a passage through the 
top of a deck house or deck, as the forward scuttle, leading to the 
forecastle, on a small craft. 

Sea cock. The valves controlling the flow of sea water into the 
tanks and compartments of the ship. 

Seam. A joint between two 
planks, or two plates. 

Sheathing. Copper or com¬ 
position nailed on the outside of 
a wooden vessel on her under¬ 
water body to prevent fouling; 
also means any kind of sheath¬ 
ing, as in holds, etc. 

Sheer. The longitudinal curve 
from stem to stern. 

Shifting board. Board parti¬ 
tions placed fore and aft to pre¬ 
vent shifting of loose cargoes, such as grain. 

Shoulder. The projection made on a plate when caulked. 

Shovelling flat. Flat part of coal bunker bottom. 

Shrouds. The stays from the mast top to the sides of a vessel, 
in the case of a lower mast. From mast top to lower mast top 
rim, in the case of a topmast. Shrouds are side stays. 


Tumble Home v 
—> 1 * 







THE HULL 


63 


Side stringers. Plate girders with horizontal webs framing in 
between the web frames. 

Sole piece. The bottom connection of a stern frame. 

Sounding pipe. The vertical pipe in a hold, leading to tanks, 
double bottoms, bilges and oil tanks, the sounding rods, chalked, 
are lowered through these pipes to get the depth of liquid at the 
bottom. An extra plate should be placed on tank or bilge bottom 
immediately under the sounding pipes, for the sounding rod to 
strike on. 

Spring buffer. The heavy coiled spring inserted in the steer¬ 
ing apparatus to take up shock. 

Stanchion. Same as pillar, or column. 

Starboard. The right hand side of a vessel when looking 
forward. 

Steel. Iron cast from the molten state into a mass containing 
a small percentage of carbon and sometimes some other par¬ 
ticular element to give it special properties. We quote the 


Ship Steel* 



Analysis 

Analysis 

Elements 

Mild Steel 

Malleable Iron 

Iron. 

. 99.185 

99.090 

Carbon. 

. 0.180 

0.111 

Silica. 

. trace 

0.088 

Sulphur. 

. 0.045 

0.094 

Phosphorus.... 

. 0.045 

0.117 

Manganese.... 

. 0.500 

0.000 

Copper. 

. 0.045 

0.000 

Slag, etc. 

. 0.000 

0.500 


100.000 

100.000 


* Percentage of Carbon in Various Grades of Steel. 


Carbon Per cent. 


Uses 


0.05—0.10 

0.10—0.15 

0.15—0.20 

0.20—0.25 

0.25—0.35 

0.35—0.45 

0.45—0.55 

0.60—0.70 

0.70—0.80 

0.80—0.90 

0.90—1.00 

1.00—1.10 


Wire, tubing, nails, etc. 

Rivets, screws and parts to be hardened. 

Ordinary forgings, and as for 0.10—0.15. 

Boiler plate, structural steel, ordinary forging, etc. 
Forgings, structural steel, etc. 

Shafts, axes, strong forgings, gears, etc. 

Crank pins and other parts subject to shocks. 
Forging dies, set screws, etc. 

Chisels, smith hammers, wrenches, etc. 

Punches, dies, rock drills, circular saws, etc. 

Mch. hammers, punches and dies, springs, etc. 
Springs, slow speed mch. tools, taps, etc. 












64 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


following from Holms' Practical Shipbuilding. “ As is, of course, 
well known, it is the element carbon which transforms pure iron 
into steel, and within a certain limit, the greater its proportion 
the harder and stronger the steel. From the analysis given it 
will be observed that carbon is also present in malleable iron, 
but as it exists here merely as an entangled impurity, it does 
not confer hardness and strength. The softest mild steel 
differs little from a chemically pure iron; it contains less than 
one tenth of one per cent, of carbon, its strength is about 20 tons 
per square inch, and it stretches more than 30 per cent, of its 
length before breaking. In passing from this material to a hard, 
high carbon steel , the qualities of mildness and ductility gradually 
disappear. The hardest steel , such as used for razors, etc., 
contains about 1.4 per cent, of carbon, its tensile strength is 
about 100 tons per square inch, it cannot be welded, and, of 
course, it is extremely brittle. Between these two extremes 
(of very mild, low-carbon steel, and a very hard high-carbon one) 
steel of any required strength may readily be produced, the 
ductility and general mildness, however, being in inverse pro¬ 
portion to the strength.” 

The tensile strength of ship steel runs from about 28 to 32 
tons per square inch. 

It is well for the sea officer to understand something of the 
resistance of the materials with which he works. Assuming the 
tensile strength of the steel in a chain, or hook, to be twenty 
tons per square inch, for a straight pull (tension), he can get a 
very reasonable idea of what it will safely hold by simply figuring 
its cross sectional area. In the design of the many parts of a 
ship technical data of a highly scientific nature is employed. 
Compressive strength, shearing strength, and torsional strength 
are considered in designing the vessel and its parts. However 
it is all a matter of theory based upon practice; of empirical 
formulae. The sea officer who takes the time to study his ship 
may add greatly to the imperfect knowledge with which naval 
architects have to work. As ships get larger, theory is stretched 
to meet conditions still unknown. The factor of safety is the 
figure that represents the number of times the ultimate resistance 
of material exceeds the working load for which it is designed. 
This is usually at least five, and when figuring constructions 
liable to sudden stresses such as a ship receives, ten and twelve 
times the estimates stresses are provided for in the design. 

1-10—1.20 Thread cutting dies, ball bearing races, wood working machine 
knives, slow speed metal cutting, etc. 

1.20—1.30 Files and similar tools. 

1.30—1.40 Wire-drawing dies, engravers’ tools, etc. 

1.40—1.50 Ditto. 

1.50—1.60 Metal-cutting saws, etc. 


THE HULL 


65 


Cold bending test , to bend a piece of steel 180 degrees around 
a pin of a radius equal to one and a half times the thickness of 
the piece being tested. 

Cold flanging , to turn the edge of a plate while the metal is 
cold. As the garboard plates, for instance. 

Cold rolling , to continue rolling of plates after they have 
cooled below a red heat. This increases the strength of the 
plates. 

Alloy steels. Alloy steel are those steels containing certain 
extra elements by the addition of which remarkable new proper¬ 
ties have been given to the metal. These will be briefly enum¬ 
erated. 

Chrome steel , containing from 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, of chromium, 
having very high elastic limit and withstanding shocks very well. 
Used for tools, gears, armor plate, etc. 

Manganese steel , containing from 11 to 14 per cent, of manga¬ 
nese; so hard that no other steel will cut it. Used for castings, 
machinery, etc. 

Nickel steel , contains from 2.25 to 4.5 per cent, of nickel; 
very strong and tough and hard, and has a low coefficient of 
expansion. Used for armor plate, steel castings, shafting, etc. 

Tungsten steel , contains from 3 to 10 per cent, of tungsten, 
having remarkable hardness. Used in “ high speed ” tools 
because it does not loose its temper when hot and can cut at 
high speed. This steel retains magnetism better than any other 
steel. 

Vanadium steel , contains from 0.1 to 0.15 per cent, of vana¬ 
dium, is very strong and tough and stands impact well. Elim¬ 
inates blow holes and bubbles. Used in castings, forgings, 
machines, etc. 

Combinations of the different alloys, and other alloys, such 
as molybdenum, aluminum, and copper, are used in the manu¬ 
facture of special alloy steel. Copper is said to increase the 
resistance of steel to corrosion. The discovery of a perfect non- 
corrosive steel of good resistance would be an unlimited benefit 
to man in his great works of construction where rust is constantly 
eating away the metal in every unprotected part. Seamen who 
are constantly chipping and painting realize this defect in ship 
steel. 

The manufacture of steel is carried on by different processes 
only the briefest mention of these may be included her and the 
following summary is taken from the Mechanical Engineer’s 
Hand Book. 

“ Open-hearth Process (Siemens-Martin Process). Steel 
made by this process is called either acid or basic. In either 
process the product is low in carbon and must be recarbonized 
by means of proper agents. The process may be carried on in 


66 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


stationary or tilting furnaces. From 15 to 80 tons are made in 
one heat, and some special furnaces have a capacity up to 200 
tons. The duration of the heat is from 6 to 12 hours. 

“ Acid open-hearth steel. The charge consists of pig iron 
and ore or pig iron and scrap having a low phosphorus content, 
and is melted in an open-hearth furnace with an acid or siliceous 
lining. The process consists in removing the impurities in the 
pig iron to a great extent by means of an oxydizing flame brought 
about by the union of producer gas with preheated air in a 
reverberatory furnace. The process is similar to the puddling 
process for making wrought iron, but is carried on at a much 
higher temperature, the products, both metal and slag, being 
molten. 

“ Basic open-hearth process. The charge of either melted 
or solid pig iron, or a mixture of pig iron and low carbon scrap is 
heated in a furnace similar to the acid furnace. The lining in 
this case is of dolomite, lime, magnesite or other basic material. 
Ore may or may not be used. 

“ The Bessemer Process may be either acid or basic, but no 
basic Bessemer steel is made in the United States. The pro¬ 
duction of acid Bessemer steel is rapidly diminishing, giving way 
to open-hearth, electric, and duplex. From 8 to 20 tons of steel 
are made in one heat which lasts from 10 to 15 minutes. The 
furnace or converter is pear shaped and mounted on trunions so 
it can be tilted easily for charging and pouring.” 

Electric steel is made in an electric furnace of which there are 
many of the induction or arc type. 

Those who must work with steel may profitably study this 
fascinating subject. We are still to see many improvements in 
the manufacture and combination of alloys. 

Stem. The forging or casting forming the forward end of the 
framing and extending from the keel to the forecastle. 

Stern frame. The large casting forming the after end of the 
framing of the underwater body of the vessel. 

Stern tube. The tube through which the tail shaft passes 
outside of the hull. It is fitted with the stern gland , lined with 
lignum vitae and lubricated by water from the sea. 

Stoke hold. Generally called the fire room in American 
practice. The space before the fires where the furnaces are 
stoked, or fired. 

Stroke book. A book containing the lists of plates in the 
vessel, their marks and dimensions. 

Stress. A force acting on a structure. Vessels may be sub¬ 
jected to many stresses, bending, buckling, compression, hog¬ 
ging, panting, pounding, racking, sagging, shear, tension, torsion. 
All of these are understandable to the seaman. Panting is the 
stress caused by the wa\es beating against the bow and sides. 


THE HULL 


67 


Pounding is a similar stress caused by sea action. Racking is 
the force tending to distort the shape of a section through the 
vessel. Sagging is caused when a vessel is lifted on her ends, the 
middle sagging down. Hogging is the reverse of sagging. 

In this connection it may be well to correct a common error in 
the use of words. Stress is a force, while strain is a permanent 
distortion due to some stress. A vessel that has hogged, or 
sagged, has been strained. 

Stringer. A continuous fore and aft member used to give 
longitudinal strength to a vessel, named according to location. 
Panting stringers, side stringers, bilge stringers. 

Strut. Support for the propeller end in twin screw vessels. 

Stud. The short steel cross bar in heavy anchor chain. 

Thrust block. The heavy bearing and its supporting block 
constituting the thrust bearing and block. This takes the push 
of the propeller and transfers it to the body of the vessel. 

Tom. Term for a shore. Used in tomming and shoring up 
sagging floors, decks, etc., and in strengthening against extra 
heavy loads. 

Transom. The last main frame of a ship attached to the stern 
framework. Transom beam is the beam across this frame. 

Trim. This is the difference in draft forward and aft. For 
instance, a vessel may trim one foot by the head, or two feet by 
the stern. In the first case she is a foot deeper forward than aft. 
In the second case she is two feet deeper aft. 

Tuck plate. A flat plate fitted over the bridge piece of the 
stern frame, when the body of the hull is some distance above 
the arch. 

Tumble home. The sloping inboard of the vessel’s side 
above the level of the greatest beam. See sketch, p. 62. 

Tunnel well. A well in the double bottom under the shaft 
tunnel to collect any water that may get into the tunnel. 

Uptake. The breaching in the smoke flue which connects 
the boiler to the funnel. 

Vang. A stay or guy fitted to standing gaffs and booms, to 
steady them in any desired position. 

Wash plate. Plates or baffels placed in tanks to prevent 
excessive surging of contents when partly filled. 

Wash port. Also called freeing port. Opening in bulwarks 
to allow for quick overflow of water when seas are shipped. 

Waterway. The narrow gutters along the sides of the deck to 
take care of run off during rain or washdown. 

Weather deck. An upper deck exposed to the weather. 

Wildcat. The large toothed sprocket wheel that catches the 
anchor chain and carries it over the windlass. 


68 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


IV 

Longitudinal Construction 

The Gatewood and the Isherwood systems of construction* 
are the methods generally employed in the construction of vessels 
on the longitudinal system. The numerous frames of a trans¬ 
verse vessel are omitted and heavy transverse web frames are 

spaced ten to twelve feet 
apart, and a system of lon¬ 
gitudinal framings is used 
between them, doing away 
with the heavy side stringers 
of the usual construction. 

This system of shipbuild¬ 
ing is finding much favor in 
the construction of tank ves¬ 
sels. It increases the lon¬ 
gitudinal strength of the hull 
and also results in a consid¬ 
erable reduction in weight. 
But recent progress in trans¬ 
verse construction has cut down this advantage to a considera¬ 
ble extent. The illustration shows the disposition of web 
frames and longitudinals. The beams, coamings, stanchions, 
tanks, and bulkheads are named as in the transverse system. 

V 

Methods of Construction 

Methods of construction are changing with advanced know¬ 
ledge of shipbuilding. 

We are now well started on standard ship construction that is, 
vessels of a certain type and tonnage built one after another 
from the same plans. This is a necessary development because 
of the demand for greater efficiency in production. 

The standard ship has been followed, through war efforts, by 
the fabricated ship , a plan adopted with enthusiasm during the 

* The Gatewood system has been developed by Mr. William Gatewood f 
naval architect of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. The 
Isherwood system is the development of an English naval architect, Mr. J. W. 
Isherwood. 



Longitudinal framing, 
Isherwood system 































THE HULL 


69 


days of war. The fabricated ship is necessarily a standard 
vessel, and in the case of many vessels is constructed of struc¬ 
tural steel, instead of the special ship steel generally used. The 
fabricated ship is built in parts made strictly to size at shops 
scattered over the country where the various shapes are rolled. 
The finished materials are shipped to the yard at tide water, 
for assembly and launching. This system saves the shipment 
of all waste material, and does away with much of the expensive 
machinery of the usual shipyard. Such vessels can be taken 
to distant points and assembled without much trouble. The 
fabricating of steel strictly to size was in successful practice in 
bridge and other engineering works for many years, and has 
proven entirely practical in the construction of ships. The first 
fabricated ships were specially designed to make use of the 
special bridge and structural shapes already being rolled. 
Heavier steel was required but this has proven an advantage in 
many ways. The fabricated vessels, built of structural steel, 
rust out less quickly and have proven seaworthy and strong. 











Welded connections 


Welded ships are being tried and for many connections the 
process of welding can be advantageously employed.* 

* The merits of rivetless vessels have been much discussed, and English 
builders not long ago launched a 500-ton rivetless steamer. It remains for 
American engineers to declare the welding system, which does away with 
rivets, is practical for large ships. 

J. S. Dudley, research engineer, and L. L. Holladay, electrical engineer of 
the Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation, owners of yards at Harriman and 
Chester, on the Delaware, announce that they have completed designs for an 



























70 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The cast steel ship is being seriously considered. A cast 
steel ship of 10,000 D.W. tons is said to have only 2,000 major 
parts to its hull, against 20,000 such parts in a vessel of ordinary 

8,800-ton Emergency Fleet type freighter, to be built without rivets. The 
hull will be 401 feet long and 54 feet molded breadth, with a displacement of 
12,231 tons. Mr. Holladay describes the ship as follows: 

“ The hull is electric welded throughout and therefore wholly without 
rivets in its construction. In addition to certain beams, keel, keelsons, etc., 
running longitudinally, the bottom shell plating, sheer strakes and deck 
plating run longitudinally; however, the side shell plating, top plates to double 
bottom and bulkhead plates run transversely or vertically. All plates are 
abutted without lapping straps or angles and then are welded with a joint 
95 to 100 per cent, as strong as the abutting steel members; which results in 
the elimination of all overlapping steel in plating, liners, angle irons for joining 
structural parts, stapling and rivets. 

“ As this material was added originally only incidentally or unavoidably, 
and for no purposes of strength or stiffness, therefore, none or only minor 
compensation need be made for its removal. We may, therefore, expect a 
saving of steel due to elimination about as follows: 


Overlapping of plates at points. 5V^% or 160 tons 

Angle-irons uniting structural parts, stapling, etc.7 % or 203 tons 

Liners. 1 % or 29 tons 

Rivet heads. 2 % or 58 tons 


Total.lSy 2 % or 450 tons 


“ The thickness of shell plates remains the same as in the standard riveted 
ship, notwithstanding the efficiency of the welded joint is 95 per cent., whereas 
the efficiency of the riveted joint averages only about 75 per cent. This 
course is conservative, and possibly preferable, until experience has demon¬ 
strated that thinner plates may be used with safety. The largest commercial 
sizes of plates are used to reduce the amount of welding to a minimum and 
keep strength up to a maximum. 

“ In order to enable welders to work with the greatest ease, speed, ef_ 
ficiency and reliability, a maximum of welding is to be done on a flat hori¬ 
zontal surface, a minimum on a vertical surface and overhead welding is 
practically excluded. Owing to the elimination of about 450 tons of useless 
metal in the hull, the initial cost of material will be reduced accordingly, 
By the substitution of electric welding for riveting a great deal of labor will be 
saved, as follows: Mold loft work, laying out of shapes and plates, trans¬ 
portation and handling of steel considerably reduced and punching, reaming, 
drilling, riveting and calking eliminated. 

“ By increasing the thickness of plates by about 15 per cent, to make up 
for the steel eliminated, and considering a welded joint has an efficiency of 
95 per cent, against 75 per cent, for a riveted joint, the electric welded ship 








THE HULL 


71 


construction. The special cast parts are welded together by a 
special process. The claim is made that tbs cast steel ship has 
twenty per cent, less metal in her hull and is stronger than a 
riveted ship. Such a ship is supposed to carry from five to six 
tons of cargo for each ton of steel in the hull. 

The concrete ship was pushed to the fore during war emer¬ 
gency times and some successful applications of this form of 
construction were launched. But the general opinion seems to 
be against concrete, or rather ferro-concrete for such craft are 
heavily reinforced by steel. No doubt concrete, in special cases, 
and in smaller craft, will have a useful application, but it does 
not seem to be the best material for deep sea service. 

The composite type of construction—metal frames and top- 
sides and wooden planking, still is used in special hulls. When 
sheathed with copper, on the under water body, such craft are 
specially valuable for tropic service away from docking facilities. 

VI 

Wooden Construction 

Shipbuilding undoubtedly began with wood, at least with 
wooden framing and probably hide or bark stretched over this. 
Down through the ages wood has remained with us as an excel¬ 
lent material for the construction of ships. The art of planking 
and caulking was known to the ancients. “ Pitch it within and 
without with pitch ”* is part of the oldest specification remaining 
on record. Not long back the writer remembers reading (in a 
Sunday supplement) of the discovery of the timbers of the Ark 
on top of Mount Ararat, giving gopher wood the record for 
endurance. 

will be 45 per cent, stronger than the riveted ship for exactly the same weight, 
or this excess may be set up against any fancied weakness in the welded ship. 

“ To sum up, the electric welded ship will contain about 15 per cent, less 
steel, will take 40 per cent, less labor, will take 25 per cent, less time for con¬ 
struction, will take 2 per cent, less power for propulsion, will be cheaper to 
maintain, and be of 5 per cent, greater capacity. 

“ The outstanding and unquestionable net gain of such a welded ship over 
its counterpart assembled by riveting is the increase in cargo-carrying capacity 
of more than 500 tons, which, when translated into earnings, represents little 
ess than a revolution in shipbuilding and ship transportation.” 

—From Marine Journal, N. Y. 


* Genesis, 6-14. 






72 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The masts here are named Fore, Main, Middle, Mizzen and Jigger. 

This is simply another way of naming the masts on a five-mast schooner. 





































































































































































THE^HULL 


73 


Wood construction brought with it the use of sails, and this 
combination of wood and canvas and wind has stood the test of 
ages at sea under all conditions. 

Where wood is abundant and of the right kind, it will always 
find a use in shipbuilding. 

Oak framing and long leaf yellow pine planking, decks and 
floors, is a combination that stands stress of weather and is partic¬ 
ularly fitted for the construction of the good-sized schooners and 
barkentines now coming into more active service since the war. 

The section and elevation shown are typical of this form of 
construction. Grown knees are not used as much*as in previous 
times, heavy ledges taking their place and adding a large measure 
of longitudinal strength to the hull. Steel straps in the wake 
of rigging and across the beams, add greatly to the resistance of 
the hull to sailing stresses. 



High keelsons, forming a center girder, prevent hogging. 
The working of ship timber to size by means of machinery per¬ 
mits of better joints and the use of larger members. 

Seamen who wish to gain a better understanding of the con¬ 
struction of modern American wooden vessels are advised to 
consult “ How Wooden Ships Are Built” by E. Cole Estep. 
This is a simple practical treatise exceptionally well illustrated 
by photographs showing the best practice. 























CHAPTER 3 


ROPES—KNOTS—SPLICES 

I 

Rope 

The use of rope, one of man’s most valuable tools, reaches 
back through the ages beyond the earliest records of history. No 
doubt our monkey ancestors were the first to grasp, both men¬ 
tally and physically, the utility of the natural ropes, the great 
vines festooned from branch to branch of the primeval forest. 
By the use of rope early man provided himself with the first 
means of applying force through distance. The discovery of 
the purchase, doubling, trebling and quadrupling his man and 
animal power was a great step forward. The invention of the 
great knots, the use of the block and sheave, perhaps antedating 
the invention of the wheel, all brought the rope into greater 
usefulness to man. 

Modern ropes may be classified into those composed of 
vegetable fibers , and those composed of metallic wires. Hair 
and hide ropes have been used; in the old days hide tiller ropes 
were rove but today these ancient things are no more. 

At sea, under sail, rope, and rope craft of all kinds, are supreme. 
In modern steam and motor vessels rope and rope fittings still 
retain their vast importance. Cargo gear calls into play the 
use of many kinds of rope, as standing rigging, lifts, guys, whips, 
and falls. Boat falls, perhaps the most important of all ropes, 
are generally of manila. The hawser , of manila or wire for 
towing, warping, and securing vessels in their berths, has grown 
larger and more important than ever before. Small stuff, signal 
halyards, lead and log lines , and the like, are more numerous 
than ever and finer and better gear is being made. 

Wherever forces are to be transmitted over a distance, ships 
moved, or weights lifted, the modern seaman must use and 
understand the properties of ropes; it is a facinating subject. 

74 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


75 


The vegetable fibers used in rope making are mainly as 
follows: 

Manila fibre is secured from the wild banana plant which 
grows exclusively in the Philippines, a most important product 
to our seafaring community. The fibre is stripped from the leaf 
stems contained in the trunk and is prepared by hand labor. 
Climatic and soil conditions, as well as the human element 
determine the grade of the manila fibre. 

Undoubtedly manila is the most important rope making ma¬ 
terial now in use so far as vegetable fibres are concerned. 

Sisal hemp, from Yucatan, is used to a great extent in the 
manufacture of cheaper grades of rope. Sisal, as a fibre, is a 
substitute for manila but is not so strong or durable. It may be 
of interest to compare the physical properties of these two kinds 
of rope. 

Tensile strength Color 

Manila 30,000 lbs. per sq. in. Light straw, silky. 

Sisal 23,000 “ “ “ “ Yellow-white, some times tinge of 

green . 

Manila is glossy, with a brilliant sheen, smooth and pliable. 
Fibre, round, easily separated, very light. Length of fibre six 
to ten feet. 

Sisal lacks gloss, is stiff and harsh, and is easily injured by 
exposure to the weather. Length of fibre two to four feet. 

Rope is also made from hemp fibre grown in the United States, 
Russia and Italy. The best Italian hemp cordage, untarred, 
is manufactured in Norway. It is very costly and is sometimes 
used on yachts for reeving the main sheet purchase, and other 
purchases requiring great strength, flexibility when wet, and 
good handling properties. This rope is a flat white in color 
something like cotton. 

Coir rope is useful for running guess warps. It is very buoy¬ 
ant, does not become water logged. Coir hawsers are specially 
useful on coal and cargo lighters knocking about a harbor. It 
is about one half as strong as manila. Coir rope is of a reddish 
brown color, stretches before parting and is always left-handed. 

Other hemp used in rope making is the Phormium hemp of 
New Zealand, and Sunn hemp of the East Indies. Many other 


76 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


special fibres are used, but the commercial manufacture of rope 
is generally confined to the above. 

It will not be necessary to go into the detail of rope making, 
nor would space permit, but in a brief way it will be understood 
that the primary object in twisting fibres together in a rope is 
that, by mutual friction, they may be held together when under 
stress applied to the rope as a whole. Hard twisting increases 
this friction and has the further advantage of compacting the 
fibres and making the rope less liable to take up moisture. 
But, as the twist is increased, the yield of rope from a given 
length of yarn diminishes. The proper degree of twist given to 
ropes is generally such that the rope is from three fourths to 
two thirds the length of the yarn composing it. 

A rope test should develop its working value. It should be 
an endurance test rather than a simple breaking test on new 
rope. This suggestion was first published by the author in an 
article in The Seafarer of January 1921 . 

Many of the definitions given below are from “ Plymouth 
Rope and The Merchant Marine ” issued by the Plymouth 
Cordage Company and are inserted here with their permission. 

Yarn (or thread). A number of fibers twisted together. This 
twist is usually right hand, but can be left hand if the use of the 
rope requires it. 

Strand. Two or more yarns twisted together. This twist is 
in the opposite direction to the twist in the yarns. 

Note. The whole principle of rope making 
depends upon this opposing of twists. The 
yarn tends to unlay, but as it is layed up on an 
opposite twist in the strand the two tendencies 
counteract. The strand is given an extra twist 
and the strands composing the rope are laid up 
with an opposite twist to the strands. 

For instance—Yarns right handed. 

Strands left handed. 

Rope right handed. 

Plain-laid rope. Three, four, or six strands 
twisted together in the opposite direction to the 
twist in the strands, so that one twist offsets the 
Plain laid other, making the strands hold together, as 
explained above. 

Cable or Water-laid Rope. Three, sometimes four, plain-laid 
three stranded ropes twisted together in the opposite direction to 




ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 

the lay of the ropes composing the cable. This 
rope has a somewhat less tensile strength than a 
plain-laid rope of equal diameter but is more 
elastic, strands stand greater surface wear, and 
the rope is therefore superior for special work, 
wrecking jobs, towing, etc.* 

Cord. A term indicating two or three yarns 
twisted together, additional twist being put in 
the yarns during the process in an opposite direc¬ 
tion to the turn in the cord. 

Lay. This term is used to designate the 
amount (and kind, i.e ., right or left), of twist 
put into a rope; i.e., the angle of the strands in 
the rope and the threads in the strands. Usually 
expressed as hard-laid; common or regular-laid, 

soft-laid, holt rope, sailmaker's lay. Other 
variations are often made in rope required for 
special work. Generally speaking the softer 
the lay, the stronger the rope. A hard-laid rope 
has greater firmness and resistance to abbraisive 
wear. In soft laid rope the wearing qualities 
are sacrified to ease in handling, whereas in 
hard-laid rope strength is often sacrificed to 
utility. In all cases the use of a rope should 
govern the lay. The amount of twist which is 
put into the strands when they are laid into the 
rope is sometimes referred to as “ long jaw,” 
meaning a soft-laid rope—“ short jaw ” mean¬ 
ing a hard-laid rope. The “ jaw ” is the dis- 
Four tance between two points on the same strand, 

stranded. and measures along the length of the rope in 

Plain laid— a direct line. 

with heart Right-laid rope. Rope in which the strands 
are twisted together in the opposite direction 
to the movement of a clock’s hands, that is strands are left , 
rope is right-laid. 

Left-laid rope. Opposite to above. 

An easy way to tell the lay of a rope by simply looking at it 
as follows: Right-handed rope, strands run upward to the right. 
Left-handed rope, strands run upward to the left. 

Hawser. Any rope 5 inches in circumference, and above, that 
is used for towing is designated as a hawser. It may be plain- 
laid or hawser-laid. 

The term hawser-laid is used to describe left-handed rope. 

A cable is designated as being hawser-laid , being made from 
three right-laid ropes. It is always long-laid (soft). 

* Water-laid rope is made by wetting the fibres in spinning, instead of us¬ 
ing oil or tallow. Sueh rope is seldom made, and is always cable-liad. 



77 



Cable laid 






78 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 

Coil. Standard length, unless otherwise designated, 200 fath¬ 
oms, or 1,200 feet. Half coils are also used, being half of above. 

Yardage (of rope). Is the length per unit of weight. 

Bolt-rope. A special word may be said of bolt rope. This 
is the name now given to rope of superior quality made from long 
selected fibers. Bolt rope was originally used for the roping of 
sails. The necessity for an exceptionally strong and serviceable 
rope that would lay dead ahead of the sailmaker was the cause 
of its development. Bolt rope is made from manila fiber and 
from tarred Russian, Italian and American hemp. Hemp bolt 
rope is used largely on sailing yachts (Russian hemp being given 
the preference as it will retain the tar better than the American 
hemp, although the latter is somewhat stronger). For general 
purposes manila bolt rope is superior and is most commonly 
used. Wire bolt rope is used on the leeches and foot of large 
square sails. 

Tarred fittings or small stuff or seizing stuff. Names gen¬ 
erally given to marline, houseline, two and three strand spun- 
yarn, roundline and hambroline. All tarred fittings with the 
exception of hambroline are made from yarns spun right-handed 
and the angle of the individual yarns is left. The yarn for 
hambroline is spun left-handed and the yarn in the cord is right. 

Note: Small stuff is also designated by the number of threads 
as 6-thread, 15-thread, 18-thread or 21-thread stuff. 

Marline. Is made from yarns spun from double dressed 
American hemp and tarred. It is a cord made of two yams 
and is used for worming, serving, and small seizing, and for 
general use on shipboard. Marline is ordered by weight and 
runs as follows: 

Common marline.222 feet to the pound 


Medium “ .360 

Yacht “ .520 


Houseline. Is made of the same material and in the same 
manner as marline except that the cord has three instead of two 
yarns. It is used for the same purpose as marline. Sometimes 
both marline and houseline are made untarred. Houseline runs 
about 160 feet to the pound. 

Roundline. Roundline is a cord made in the same manner as 
houseline but of larger size, and is used for the same purpose. 
It is used for worming larger ropes where the cuntline to be 
filled is larger. Roundline runs about 92 feet to the pound. 

Hambroline. Hambroline is a cord of three yarns approx¬ 
imately the same size as and yardage as roundline. It differs 
from roundline in having an opposite twist. 

Spunyarn. While spunyarn is made of the same materials as 
the other tarred fittings its method of manufacture is somewhat 





ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


79 


different. In a corded product the yarns are first spun and then 
an additional twist is given them in the opposite direction to the 
twist of the product. In spunyarn the yarns are twisted together 
with no additional twist being put into them. Spunyarn lies 
smooth under the serving mallet and gives a close covering to 
the rope being served and keeps out the water. It is also used 
for general work on shipboard. It has two, three, and some¬ 
times four yarns. 

Ratline. Is generally made from tarred American hemp. It 
is an especial part of the boatswain’s store for general use on 
shipboard. Except perhaps in sailing craft, ratline stuff is seldom 
used for its original purpose, namely the 44 ratlines ” forming the 
rope ladder supported by the shrouds. It is three stranded, 
and the strands are given a medium twist while the rope is 
rounded up with afterturn so the eyesplice may be easily tucked 
and held by the afterturn of the rope when it is employed as 
ratlines. 

On steamers ratline is used for heavy serving, as lashings for 
spars, anchors, and boats, and to a large extent as heaving lines. 

Tarred hemp lanyard. Lanyards are still used occasionally. 
It is four stranded and seldom over four and a half inches in 
circumference. 

Quartermaster's stores. These are generally the log lines, 
signal halyards, lead lines, hand and deep-sea, so far as the rope 
equipment of the vessel is concerned. 

Signal halyards. Three-strand plain-laid, untarred hemp is 
generally used. It runs in the following sizes. 

%" in hanks. 30 fathoms each 

1 " in coils. 120 44 

iy 8 " in coils. 120 44 

Signal halyards are also very often rove from braided cord, 
the sizes most often used being those below: 

No. 7.7/32" in diameter 

44 8 .1/4 " 

“ 9 .9/32" 44 

“ 10.5/16" 44 

It can be had up to 1 %" in diameter. 

Samson cord * (braided cotton) is very largely used. 

Lead lines , log lines. These will be found under the chapter 
on Compass, Log, Lead. 

The use of manila rope. Three strand manila, common-lay, 
is used for all work not calling for extra strength. Cargo slings, 
cargo hoists, falls, working tackles, boom tackles, painters, 


* Trade name. 










80 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


whips, gantlines, scaffold slings, etc. It is generally right- 
handed, untarred. Sizes from six-thread to 10 inch. 

Four strand manila , yarns tallow treated, with fiber heart. 
Much used for life boat falls. Comes in sizes from 2*/2 to 6 
inches in circumference. 

(Note: rope sizes, as used at sea, refer to the circumference, 
unless otherwise stated.) 

Towing lines. Should be made of the best bolt rope stock. 
These lines come in five-inch sizes and upwards in standard 
coils of two hundred fathoms. 

Any rope larger than ten inches may be furnished in coils of 
two hundred and fifty fathoms. 

Manila handling lines. These lines used in docking and in 
tieing up and often called “ working lines ” come in the regular 
sizes above five-inch. They should be of the best quality. 

Wrecking cable. Hawser laid, averaging from 14 to 16 inches 
in circumference. 

Fishermen's cables. The fishing boat, riding to a long scope 
in deep water, still holds to the fiber cable. These ropes are 
hawser-laid, and of great strength, usually tarred. The sizes 
range from four to twelve inches in circumference. Coils run 
60, 75, 90, 100 and 120 fathoms. 

Basis. Manufacturers in quoting the price of rope make use 
of a basis size. Generally for manila and sisal cordage, rope 
2Vi inch (circum.) is taken as the basis. This figure is then 
used in working out costs as follows: 

3-strand rope, 2Vi inch and larger, basis price. 

3-strand rope, 2 inch, V 2 cent over basis. 

3-strand rope, 1%, iy 2 and lVi inch, one cent over basis. 

3-strand rope, l'/g inch, IV 2 cents over basis. 

3-strand rope, 1 and 3 /4 inch, 2 cents over basis. 

3-strand rope, 9/16 inch, 2 y 2 cents over basis 

3- strand rope, 8/16 inch, 3 cents over basis. 

4- strand rope 1 cent per lb. more than 3 strand. 

From this it will be seen that all ropes of the basis size or 
larger are figured at a certain price per pound. The smaller 
sizes running to a higher figure per pound, and four stranded 
rope more per pound than three stranded. 

Oakum was formerly a byproduct, picked from junk aboard 
the long voyage sailer, and is now manufactured ashore. It 
comes under rope lore and should be of good quality as it is used 
for caulking seams of wooden vessels and wooden decks and in 
some cases hatch covers are caulked before battening down the 
tarpaulins on wet runs through stormy weather with cargoes 
subject to damage by water. 

Oakum is sold in fifty-pound bales, gross weight. Rope 
oakum comes in coils of about fifty pounds. 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


81 


The navy specifications contain the following requirements as 
to quality: 

Material. Oakum shall be made from Italian, Russian or 
American hemp (Canabis sativa), line or tow, or from any No. 1 
grade Sunn, or No. 2 grade Benaries, or North Bengal Sunn, 
or from any combination of these fibers; and shall be thoroughly 
carded and finished, free from excessive lumps, dirt, or other 
extraneous matter. 

Spinning. Oakum shall be spun by machine into slivers or 
threads in the form of balls or hanks not exceeding 5 pounds 
each; it shall be soft and uniform in texture, strong and suf¬ 
ficiently twisted to be suitable in all respects for calking seams 
of vessels. The slivers or threads shall contain not less than 
43 feet to the pound and not more than 75 feet to the pound, 
unless otherwise required. 

Impregnation. The fibers shall be thoroughly impregnated 
with pine tar to an amount not to exceed 30 per cent, of the total 
weight of the fiber and tar. 

Packing. Oakum shall be baled in regular packages contain¬ 
ing about 50 pounds each. Bales shall be compressed no more 
than necessary and shall be securely bound with laths and 
strong tarred sisal yarns. Old timers picking oakum under the 
facile head during heavy weather, knew nothing about these 
requirements. 

II 

Notes on the Care of Rope 

To open a coil of rope , loosen the burlap cover, lay the coil 
on the flat side with the inside end nearest the deck. Then 
reach down through the center of the coil and draw the rope up 
and out of the coil. Do not uncoil from the outside as extra 
turns are put in the rope and kinks are apt to form. 

To thoroughfoot a rope, coil down gainst the lay, bring lower 
end up through center of coil and coil down with the lay. This 
will take out the kinks and extra turns. If many turns in rope, 
coil small; if few turns, coil large. 

So far we are all right when we have both ends of our rope 
free. When taking the turns out of the hauling part of a boom 
guy, or a topping lift, or a brace, coil down left- handed (for 
right-handed rope) that is, against the hands of a clock, beginning 
at the pin or cleat, and dip the end down through the coil, pulling 
it out, capsize the coil and proceed as before. These are definite 
directions on the method of thoroughfooting a rope. 


82 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Use on capstan and windlass. The principle of the contrary 
turn in rope making must be considered in the care of rope used 
on a capstan or windlass. If the rope is thrown on always in the 
same direction the “ afterturn ” will be continually thrown out, 
and the rope will be injured. When using rope on winch heads 
at each end of a shaft, care must be taken when the winch is 
running and no strain on either one of the ropes, that the turns 
on the idle head do not chafe. 

Taut dry ropes should he immediately slacked off when wet 
by rain. This is specially important with long ropes rove as 
running rigging. The contraction of untarred rope, manila in 
particular, when wet, is well understood. Signal halyards 
should belay in such fashion that they will give enough to allow 
for this when doused by rain. 

Lashings, as for rafts, and at shear heads, or when lashing 
the garland on a heavy mast or spar, are hove taught dry. When 
wet, by being put overboard or by dashing water over them, 
great tightness is obtained. 

Acid is very detrimental to the life of a rope and dangerous 
to those using it. Great care must always be taken to keep 
rope away from any possible contact with acid, or with strong 
acid fumes. Damp rope will absorb such fumes and will be 
acted upon very rapidly. 

Although a wet rope gives an increased breaking strength if 
the rope is new, and though manila rope deteriorates very little 
from wetting, rope shculd never be put away while wet or damp. 
After use, rope should oe cleaned and dried, and coiled down in a 
loose coil. Small ropes and tackles should be hung up, large 
ropes should be coiled, or faked, on gratings raised from the 
deck to insure the circulation of air and freedom from wet by 
water running on the deck. 

Rope should be stored in dry, well-ventilated places. The 
fore and after peak storerooms of the average vessel are far 
from ideal. Whenever possible these places should be cleaned 
out and all rope stores roused up on deck and given a sun bath. 
Dry rot in rope is little understood, but it is the source of a 
great deal of loss in the life and strength of rope. 

Boat falls and running rigging , always under some tension, 
dry out quickly. Care should be taken of the hauling parts of 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


83 


boat falls. These are coiled in tubs, to conform with the regu¬ 
lations of the United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. 
These ends, generally not properly ventilated, deteriorate 
rapidly. Many officers turn boat falls end-for-end , placing the 
partly rotted, but larger looking rope at the davit heads and the 
long-jawed well-preserved stuff in the tubs. Boat falls should 
never be turned. When no longer Al, these ropes should be 
shifted to less important use, and new ones rove. 

Hawser and mooring lines should be hoisted clear of the deck 
in loose coils and thoroughly dried out before stowing below. 
When wet with salt water , it is advisable to get them up in a good 
rain and wash out the salt, or use a hose if fresh water is avail¬ 
able. The salt crystals make the rope highly hygroscopic and 
if stowed below for a time it will become damp. 

Sand or grit of any kind cuts away the fibres of a rope and 
causes rapid deterioration. Ropes brought on deck, especially 
handling lines coiled aft under the cinders from the funnel, 
should be covered with tarpaulins when not in use. The ends 
of all mooring lines should be similarly protected when possible. 
Generally vessels in port take little care of these important lines.* 

Large ropes do not rot out as rapidly as small ones. 

The working loads for various sizes and kinds of rope will be 
found in the Rope Tables at the end of this chapter. 

* In a paper presented in 1917 before the Engineers Society of Westren 
Pennsylvania, J. Melville Alison, of Manchester, England, dwelt upon the 
long life of rope used in the driving of machinery. Among many cases cited 
by Mr. Alison the following may be of interest to seamen: 

“ A remarkable case of longevity may be mentioned of 24 cotton ropes 
1% in. in diameter, employed to transmit 820 hp. in a Lancashire cotton mill 
and running at a velocity of 4,396 ft. per minute directly from the engine 
flywheel, which is 28 ft. in diameter. These were fixed in September, 1878> 
and are still running in 24 hours a day service, a period of over 38 years. 
Another set has been working 28 years on an average of 20 hours per day and 
appears little the worse for wear.” 

Undoubtedly intelligent care of the ropes of a ship, whether a sailer or a 
steamer, must in the long run pay a handsome return in economy. 


84 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Before closing the section on rope mention should be made of 
re-made rope. Certain manufacturers buy up old junk and 
taking out the best parts re-make it into surprisingly good looking 
rope. This rope is made up of strands spun with the old cover 
yarns placed in the heart and the clean inside yarns outside. 
A re-made rope can be detected by opening up the strands, 
revealing the soiled or uneven inside strands. It is also liable 
to have a very “ bilgy ” smell, due to former voyaging in the 
fore or after peaks. It is about half as strong as new rope. 

In purchasing rope from unknown dealers test it carefully 
to be certain that it is genuine manila. Manila rope, because of 
certain natural oils inherent to the manila fibre, will not suffer 
from wetting by salt water. All sisal yarns are weakened by 
being wet. To test fibre immerse the yarns in a bucket of salt 
water for about two days. Pure manila will come out fine and 
strong. Sisal will be stringy and will comb apart. Some kinds 
of sisal when dry is as strong and even stronger than manila 
and much of it looks very fine in a new rope. Wetting at once 
causes it to deteriorate. 

Ropes were formerly all made in a rope walk , now the very 
best kind of rope is also made by machinery. Some old timers, 
however, seem to prefer the walk-laid rope because of their belief 
that the strands of such rope will all be of absolutely the same 
length throughout. When the rope is under stress all strands 
should bear an equal part of the load, so the wear will be even. 
Much of the re-made rope on the market is due to the fact that 
often two strands of a rope will wear out while a third strand 
seems to be almost perfect showing that the rope, in the first 
place, was not properly made, or was grossly mishandled. The 
“ good ” strand is used to form the basis for the inferior rope 
resulting from re-making. 

In purchasing rope the reputation and standing of the maker 
is a safeguard. Owing to the fact that safety of life often depends 
upon the integrity of rope the Government will not permit a rope 
maker to brand his product as “ Manila Rope ” unless it is the 
genuine article made from new yarns. 

The largest cable-laid rope made up to the present time is a 
24" hawser laid rope. 

Plain-laid, three stranded rope, has been made as large as 25". 
Twelve inch, plain-laid three stranded rope is about the largest 
size in general use. 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


85 


III 


Knots, Hitches, Bends; etc . 

A great many knots have come down to us from our seafaring 
ancestors and in most instances their origin is lost in the dim 
distance of the unrecorded past. But with the 
modern seaman most of these formations now 
only possess an academic interest. The sheep¬ 
shank , for instance, is used about as often as 
the crossbow. In Standard Seamanship we 
will picture many knots, bends, and hitches, and 
explain the formation and use of those em¬ 
ployed on board ship. 

The bowline. King of knots. Nothing can jamb 
it; it will never slip if properly made. The bow¬ 
line, with gear of moderate size, is made as fol¬ 
lows. Take the bight of the rope in the left hand, 
the end in the right hand both palms up. Stand¬ 
ing part and end leading away from body. 
Place the end over the bight, above the index 
Sheepshank finger of the left hand. Place the index finger 
of the right hand on top of this end, crossing 




Bowline with loop passed over 
bight forming a running bowline. 



Bowline 

Back view of a bowline. Knots very 
often look quite different when 
viewed from different sides. 









86 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the bight, and the thumb of the right hand under the bight; 
turn the right wrist, outboard (z.e., to the right) and you will 
form a loop in the bight of the line and will have placed 
the end of the rope through this loop in one motion. This loop 
is the goose neck. Now finish the knot by carrying the end 
back around the standing part of the rope, on the right side, and 
down around standing part on the left side, back again through 
the goose neck. This is the sailor’s way of casting a bowline in 
a piece of gear of moderate size. You may have to get someone 
to show you how it is done, for the art of knotting and splicing 
can not be learned entirely from books. 

The bowline is useful in many ways. If you wish to attach 
a painter to a ring, pass end through and form the bowline, and 
you are safe from everything but chafe or parting under too great 
a stress. It is used in sending men over the side, in forming 
temporary eyes in large ropes and in small ones. It has a 
thousand applications. 

French bowline. When sending a man over the side on 
hazardous work, into a smoke-filled hold, or anywhere where he 
may become unconscious, or loose his grip, and where he may 
have to use both hands , make use of the French bowline. The 
writer has not seen this form of the bowline illustrated in any 
work on seamanship. It was brought to his attention in 1897 
by Victor Mathes, of Dunkirk, able seaman on the American three 
skysail yarder A. J. Fuller , when on a voyage around the Horn.* 
Seaman Mathes saw it used in the French Navy. The bowline 
is formed in the same fashion as the regular bowline, except 
that the end (D), instead of going about the standing part (E) 

* “ Our work under the fo’s’sle head got all hands started and during 
many a dismal wet dog watch we practiced the forming of every knot from the 
bowline down, Peter, the boy, and myself trying to outdo each other in the 
variety of our achievements. Frenchy taught us a new way to form that 
‘ king of knots ’ the bowline , in which the loop is passed through the goose¬ 
neck twice, forming a double loop, a most useful knot employed in the French 
navy. When a man is to be lowered over side, he sits in one of the loops and 
the other is passed under his arm pits, the gooseneck coming against his 
chest. His weight tautens the part under his arms. It is impossible for a 
man to drop out of this bowline, even though he becomes unconscious.” 

— Under Sail, page 125. 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


87 


at once, is given a round turn about the bight of the goose neck 
(A), and then the knot is finished off as before. 

This leaves two loops that are loosely connected through the 
goose neck. The loops are made so that a man can sit in one (B) 
while the other (C) goes under his arm pits, the knot being at his 
breast. The weight of the man hauls the arm pit loop taut, he 
is safe against falling out and is held upright if unconscious. 



This little-known knot is perhaps one of the most useful 
applications of the bowline. 

The bowline on a bight , is well known, though of slight utility. 
It is formed as in the ordinary way, using the bight instead of the 
end, the parts being double. When the bight is up through the 
goose neck, it is passed around the standing part by dipping it 
down and lifting the loop through it. The drawings show this 
better than words. 








88 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Spanish bowline. Not much use for this. 



Bowline on a bight 


Spanish bowline 


The reef knot , or square knot , as its name implies, is used to 
tie the reef points. Where the reef points are on both sides of 
the sail the knot is tied as 



shown in figure. 


Where reefing jackstays 
are fitted, both reef points 


are forward of the sail R ee f or Square Knot. The knot is 
they are then passed over shown open. It should be hauled tight, 
the jackstay from forward the lower ends go around the yard. The 
aft, under it from aft for- artist > never havin 9 been on a V ard > did 
ward, and the reef knot is not get this exactly right 
made on top of their standing parts. 

The knot is useful in many ways though not any too re¬ 
liable unless the ends are stopped down. It should not be 
used to bend together ropes for hauling. It is a good knot 


for tying up things, packages 
and the like. When the reef 
knot is made correctly both 
parts come up together at 
each side of the knot, other¬ 
wise, when one is up and the 
other down we have the 



Granny knot—one end up, one 
end down 


granny. Youngsters will always remember how easy it is to 
make a granny. 













ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


89 


A study of this knot will show that it is closely allied to the 
overhand knot of classic uselessness. The double overhand 
knot is also seldom used. 



Overhand knot 


Double overhand 


The figure-of-eight knot fits in about here and brings forth 
memories of “ pieces of eight.” Sometimes it is useful to 
prevent the end of an extended fall from running out through the 
hauling block. Sailors regard it with tolerance and tailors find 
it useful in decorating ladies dresses and military uniforms, as 
Keats wrote “ A thing of beauty is a joy forever so the figure- 
of-eight knot has a valid reason for its being. 





Bag knot 


Figure-of-eight knot 


But when we get into the realm of these complications we 
find the bag knot or the hackamore to confuse us. Any able 
seaman should be able to make it. 



Two half hitches 


Half hitch 


The half hitch and two half hitches are very useful knots and 
are often employed to make fast lines of moderate size. 






























90 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A round turn and two half hitches, are very much used on 
board ship. The latter with the end stopped down is used 
in securing mooring lines to posts where no eye is fitted. 



The clove hitch is really two half hitches about a spar, or rail, 
or the standing part of another rope. The clove hitch is very 
useful. It is used in hitching ratlines to the shrouds other 
than the swifter and after leg. 





The rolling hitch is very effective when a pull is to be resisted 


along the length of a spar. It 
is only effective however for a 
steady pull, slacking and jerking 
is liable to loosen it. The double 
turn jambs under the hauling 
part and holds it from slipping. 

The timber hitch , and timber 
and half hitch are useful when 
towing spars. 

































































ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


91 


The sheet bendy sometimes called becket or signal halyard 

bend is used as the name im¬ 
plies, in bending flags where 
snap hooks are not fitted. It 
is also used in securing the 
standing part of small tackles 
to the becket in one of the 
blocks. 

The double sheet bend is more secure and serves very well 
for bending ropes together when they are not too large. If the 
ends are stopped to the standing parts it is very reliable. 



Open carrick bend 





Timber and half hitch 


The carrick bend and double carrick bend are used in bending 
together hawsers. The last gives an easy connection distributing 
the stress along the fibres of the rope. 



Double sheet bend Double carrick bend Carrick bend 


The open carrick bend . A good bend for heavy lines. 

Note: Ends are alwayslashed to standing parts of carrick bends. 

The reeving line bend is useful where the lines must be 
payed out through a hawse pipe or a small towing chock. It 
is not as elastic as the carrick bend. Two bowlines are some¬ 
times used in connecting hawsers the short nip at the loops 
is a disadvantage under heavy and continuous stress. 






















2 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The cat's paw is used when it is necessary to clap 
a tackle on a rope, or a handy billy on the hauling 
part of a larger purchase. It can be made any¬ 
where on the bight of a rope of moderate size and 
affords a sure hold fora steady pull. 

The blackwall hitch 
and double blackwall 
hitch are seldom used. 
Their purpose is to se¬ 
cure a rope to the hook 
of a block. It is gener¬ 
ally better to form a 
bowline and hook into 
the loop, unless there 
is very little end when 
the above hitches come 
into play. Teach these 
to the ship’s boys for 
few of them nowadays 
know how to make them. 

The midshipman's 
hitch. Lift the end out 
over the bill of the 
hook. 

The fishermen's bend is useful for securing a rope 
to a buoy, or a hawser to a kedge anchor. 



Cat's paw 



















ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


93 


The stuns'le tack bend is very handy when you set the 
Uuns'ls. So is the stuns'le halyard bend. 



Fishermen's bend 



The Stevedore's knot. Used to prevent a fall from run¬ 
ning through the large swallow of a cargo block. 

Crabber's eye knot. A running eye with extra 
friction. 

Masthead knot. A knot that can be formed at the 
head of a jury mast. The knot is formed on the 
middle of a rope, the two ends lead aft as backstays, 
the forward loop provides for the hooking or bending 
of a fore stay, and the side loops for shrouds. When 
the knot is formed and set up, these loops are sup¬ 
posed to lie close to 
the mast head. 

SteV knot. eS Japanese knot. 

Upper, com- Another fancy one. 



mensed, 




lower, 

(almost) 

jambed 


Marling hitch. 

Used in lashing 
hammocks. Use Crabber's eye knot 

seven hitches be¬ 
tween the ends. The marling hitch is specially use¬ 
ful. It is used for marling the wire bolt ropes to 
large sails, and for making selvagee strops. Note 
that the parts come out from under the hitch, in that 
way helping to jamb the turns. Used with marling 
spike to heave taut turns of a lashing or in clapping 
on seizings. 















94 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 





Selvagee strop. This is a strop made of many turns of spun 
yarn, rope yarn, or other small stuff. Where a large strop is 
made sixteen or twenty-one thread stuff may be used. It is 



Selvagee strop Hooking a “ Handy Billy ” Hooking on a spar 
on a large rope 































ROPE—KNOTS -SPLICES 


95 


formed by passing the parts, with equal tension, around two 
large spikes on a board, and then marling the parts together, 
with marline. It is one of the safest strops for hooking a tak le 
to a stay, or spar. The illustrations show several methods of 
using this strop. 

Knotting a rope yarn. Very many men at sea nowadays do 
not know how to knot a rope yarn. In making a selvagee strop 



''Rope Yarn .''' 

Knotting a rope yarn 


this must be done, where rope yarn is used. The parts shown in 
the drawing are hauled tight. The rope yarn will then be 
secured without give. 

Lashings are a particularly- necessary and useful part of sea¬ 
manship on any vessel. They are passed and hove taut } and 
the ends are often frapped about the standing parts. Frapping 
turns are the turns at right angles to the main turns of a lashing 
and serve to bring the parts together and to make the lashing 
still more secure. To heave a lashing tight, form a marling 
hitch, and heave on it with the point of a spike, or if you have a 
large lashing, use a small heaver, or a bar. 

The Marling hitch gives the marling spike its name (often 
called marline spike). The marling hitch is formed by crossing 
the bight over the point of the spike and sticking spike through 
as shown. A twist of the wrist does it. Someone must show 
you this. 

Rose lashing. Useful in securing the foot rope to a yard. 



Rose lashing 


Marling hitch 




















96 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Seizings are of great importance in the rigging on board ships 
Care should be taken in clapping on seizings, as the method of 
procedure is very clearly laid down. Seizings, of course, are 
used in many places on board steamers, and are often very 
poorly done. 



Stopper 
with a hook 


Racking seizing. Used to rack, or hold together 
two parts of a fall, or rigging when being set up. If 
you wish to shift the hauling part of a heavy boom 
topping lift from one cleat to 
another on the mast table, boom 
topped up, rack the fall to the 
one next to it, cast off and shift. 

Where this is done often, have 
a stopper with a hook , and use 
this, if falls are too far apart for 
racking. 

Plain or round seizing. The 
drawing shows the beginning, 
the turns passed, end under 



Racking seizing 


last turn, and the trapping turns, which are knotted. 

Middle seizing. This is a round seizing passed about the 
bights of two pieces of gear that are required to lie close to each 



Plain or round seizing 




ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


97 


other. The drawing shows the manner of knot¬ 
ting the trapping turns. Where stays are turned 
up around dead eyes or thimbles, the upper seiz¬ 
ings are of this kind. 

Eye seizings are those formed at the neck of 
an eye, and are usually found under a thimble 
(a round or pear-shaped ring of metal fitting in 
an eye to take the chafe). 

Riding turns , are the turns put over the first 
turns in a seizing, or lashing. These should 
not be hove too taut. They ride in the spaces 
between the parts underneath. 



Middle seizing 



Seizing with riding turns 


A study of seizings will show that they are simply small 
lashings. 



Another method of making an eye or throat seizing 






98 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Spanish windlass is a combination of a bar, a rope and 

two heavers. Used to apply 
power for bringing the parts of a 
rope together. The heavy throat 
seizing at the eyes of the rigging, 
is often passed after the shrouds 
have been brought together by a 
Spanish windlass. This method 
of applying power dates back 
beyond the caravels of Colum¬ 
bus. It is still a very useful 
thing. 

Throat seizings , aside from the throat seizings under the eyes 
of the rigging, the seizings made where two ropes cross are 



Spanish windlass 



also called by that name. The drawings show two methods of 
forming this seizing. 

Clinches are formed by seizing an eye in the bight of a rope 
near the end, the eye passing around the standing part of the 
rope forming a running eye, the 
bight or standing part running 
through the loop formed by 
the clinch. When the eye of 
the clinch is formed so that 
the end of the rope is next to 
the running loop, it is called 
an inside clinch. When the 
end is away from it it is called 
an outside clinch. Clinches are used to secure the buntlines 
to the foot of a sail when they are not rigged as spilling lines. 




Outside clinch 


Inside clinch 







ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


99 


To bend a rope cable to an anchor use an inside clinch. See 
ground tackle. 

Shroud knot. Used in joining a rope stay that has been 
carried away when there is very little end left for splicing or 
knotting. Come up on the lanyard, and unlay the strands for a 
short distance back from the break. Bring the rope together, 



Shroud knot 


forking the strands. Form a wall knot on each rope with the 
strands of the other. Ends may be fayed down and served on 
each side of knot. 

Wall knot. Unlay rope, pass the strands around from left to 
right up underneath of the strand next to the right, as shown in 
illustration, then form the knot and pull the strands through taut. 

Double wall. Follow around the strands of a single wall, 
opening up the lay of the knot with a spike, the three strands 
again coming up through the center. Also called a stopper 
knot. 






100 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A Crown is formed by bending the strands of a rope over each 
other, tucking the third one as shown in the Single Mathew 
Walker and crown. 



Wall knot 


Single Mathew Walker. Form as a wall knot but pass strands 
around to right under two strands and up behind its own part. 



Single Mathew Walker and crown 


Double Mathew Walker. Pass strands around from left to 
right under all parts and up through its own bight. 

Manrope knot. Form a wall, and crown it. Then follow 
strands of wall around again and then form the crown. A very 
good knot at the end of manropes leading down the side ladders. 
If someone should slip overboard in a tideway there is some¬ 
thing to catch hold of. 

Many of the knots shown may seem useless. In fact they 
are mainly ornamental. On the other hand they are amusing 
and when sailors busy themselves with these things they are 





ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


101 


gaining the fine points of a handicraft that has its origin in the 
remotest times. Also, many men are going to sea nowadays 



Double Mathew Walker 



who would profit by a closer attention to the fundamental things 
in seamanship. Sailors have been getting soft. Riggers do 
their work while the vessel is in port, and when disaster comes, 



Manrope knot 


all they can do is to sit around and wait for someone to pick 
them up. Jury rigs call for the highest skill in seamanship and 
many a craft has been saved through the skill and seamanship of 
her crew in lashing, knotting and splicing. 




102 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


IV 

Splices 

Splicing Manila and Hemp 

Splicing is strictly a sailor art and no man worth his salt will 
be satisfied until he has mastered all details of this part of rope 
lore. 

The principal splices are: 

Eye splice 

Sailmaker’s eye splice 
Short splice 
Long splice 
Mariner’s splice 
Cut splice 
Chain splice 
Back splice 

The following are closely allied to splicing: 

The grommet 
The cringle 

In splicing manila and hemp ropes, 
a fid is used. This is a pointed 
wooden spike, larger than a marling 


A fid 


spike. Made of lignum-vitae , hickory or other hard wood. 

We will now attempt to describe the manner of making the 
above splices, etc. The young seaman must understand how¬ 
ever that the art can only be mastered by practice and by ob¬ 
servation, watching seamen and riggers at 
work and picking up the little wrinkles nec¬ 
essary to completeness and finish. 

Eye splice. Unlay the rope for a sufficient 
distance, depending upon its size, and leave 
end enough in the strands to tuck three times. 

In a large rope it is well to whip the ends of 
the strands, though a careful workman will 
not have to do this. 

Decide upon the size of the eye required, 
then bring down the crotch of the strands 
(also whipped, if a large rope) and lay them 
in this fashion. Middle strand up, and 





ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


103 


strands lying on either side. Have the bight 
of the rope away from you, the eye toward 
the body. Tuck as follows (Fig. A): 

Middle strand under strand immediately 
below it. 

Left-hand strand, over the strand under 
which the first strand was tucked and under 
the next (Fig. B). 

Then turn the splice over, give the last 
strand an extra twist with the lay, and tuck 
it under the remaining strand in the bight 
of the rope. All strands are tucked from 
right to left (in a right-handed rope) (Fig. C). 

Then tuck over and under twice more. 
If splice is to be finished off and served, cut 
out a third of the strands, underneath, at the 
last two tucks. 

Note: The strands in figures are loose to 
show method of tucking. 

Sailmaker's eye splice. Tuck as in the 
ordinary eye splice, then instead of tucking 
over and under, let each strand follow round 
and round the strands of the bight. This 

preserves the 




Fig.B 



Fig. C 


Sailmaker’s eye splice 


lay of the rope 
and makes it 

easier to rope a sail, as the rop¬ 
ing twine and canvas can follow 
the lay of the rope. 

Where two ropes of unequal 
size are spliced together, the splice is called a sailmaker’s 
splice. This is seldom done at present. 

An eye splice in four stranded rope is made by tucking left 
strand under two next (to right) under one, and remaining 
strands each under one. All tucks from right to left. 

Short splice. Unlay the strands at the end of the ropes to be 
joined. Crotch the ends. In a large rope stop down the ends 
on one side against the bight and tuck the others over and under, 
then turn around and tuck the other ends over and under, from 





STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 

right to left (with right-handed rope). Tuck 
whole twice, then cut out strands for neat¬ 
ness if required and tuck twice again on each 
side. 

Some sailors make this splice very handily 
by first taking half turns with the strands 
as they are crotched. It will be found that 
one tuck is put in this way and the ropes are 
kept close together. In splicing ropes of mod¬ 
erate size this is always done as it saves 
time. 

The long splice. The long splice, next to 
the eye splice, is the most important of the 
splices. It should be carefully made, and 
will not increase the diame¬ 
ter of the rope, nor mar its 
strength to any great extent. 

In the illustration the unlay¬ 
ing of one strand and follow¬ 
ing it with another strand 
from the rope to be ioined to 
it is clearly shown. 

To begin the splice care¬ 
fully unlay at least six times 
the circumference of the rope 
(if the rope is to run over a 
shieve double this). Crotch 
the strands, hold them in close 
contact and carefully unlay a 
strand back from the crotch, 
following it with a strand of 
the rope to be joined. The 
two strands remaining at the 
crotch are of course ready for 
tucking. 

Tuck once and then cut out 
from under the strands and tuck as in a sailmaker’s eye splice. 
The tucks should be whipped with sail twine. 

The mariner's splice. This is a splice in cable-laid rope. 





104 



Eye splice in four 
stranded rope 





ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


105 


Proceed as in a long splice. Then instead of tucking the 
u strands ” these are in turn spliced as above. It is a regular 
sailors job to long splice a cable-laid rope. 





Chain splice . This is used where a 
rope tail is to be spliced into a chain. 
Used where chain sheets are fitted to 
lower topsails. 




Chain splice 


Back splice 


Back splice. Crown the strands and 
splice back into the lay of the rope, as in 
a short splice. Useful at the end of falls, 
when a whipping cannot be put on. 




















106 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Cut splice. This splice is formed in the same manner as an 
eye splice. There are two separate tuckings, forming an eye in 
the bight of a rope. This splice comes in handy where shrouds 
are fitted over the head of a mast in a small boat. 

The grommet. This is a ring 
of rope formed from one strand, 
the ends coming together and 
being tucked as in 
a long splice. Used 
for strapping small 
blocks. Saloon 
deckmen exercise 
their seamanship 
in making grom- 
Finished grommet mets for passen¬ 
gers to toss over 
pegs, showing that seamanship has 
many useful applications. 

The cringle. This is an eye 
spliced into the head or leech of 
a sail. Formed with a single 
strand as the grommet is formed. 

The illustration are self-explanatory. To turn in a cringle in stiff 
four-stranded hemp bolt rope is a real test of a man’s seamanship. 





Turning in a cringle on the leech of a sail , 





ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


107 




Turning in a cringle on the bight of another rope. Used on nets , etc. 
Usually worked over a round thimble 


Aside from knotting and splicing many things are to be met 
with in handling rope. 

Worming is the laying of a smaller rope, or worm along the 
lay of a larger rope to bring the surface of the rope more nearly 
round for the purpose of serving. 



Parcelling is the covering of a rope, previously wormed, with a 
continuous strip of overlapping canvas. 

Serving is the winding round of small stuff, marline, and the 
like, heaving it close and tight by means of a serving mallet or 
serving board. The latter being used near the end of work and 
on eye splices where the larger tool cannot be used unless the 



Serving board 


Serving mallet 























108 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


service is led over the end of the mallet (you must see this done; 
any rigger will show you). 



Working with a serving board 


The rule is: Worm and parcel with the lay, then turn and 
serve the other way. In other words, a right-handed rope is 
served left-handed. 




Served grommet 


Grommet French-whipped 
Grommets are often served 


Service is used in many ways, 
as shown. 

French whipping , is a form of service, put on 
with a spike where each turn is hitched, the hitches 
forming a continuous ridge around the whipping 
as shown. 

Plain whipping. A short length of service, or a 
short end seizing at the end of a rope to prevent it 
from unlaying. This is usually made with twine 
and where the twine is carried over the whipping 
along the lay of the rope and stitched through the 
rope above and below the'whipping it is a sailmak- 
er's whipping. 

To put on an ordinary whipping, without a nee- 



Plain 

whipping 












ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


109 


die, heave all turns taut over 
the end, leave a few turns 
loose, tuck the finishing end 
back under these, then heave 
them taut and pull the end up 
under them cutting it off. If 
both beginning end and finishing 
end are brought up between 
the same turns, the whipping 
can be made very secure by 
square knotting them and push¬ 
ing the knot under the turns. 

In making knots, hitches, 
bends, splices, etc., know just 
what the knot or splice is ex¬ 
pected to do. A rolling hitch is 
only satisfactory when the pull 
is one particular way. Many 
other rope formations are the 
same. Use rope with knowl¬ 
edge and understanding as to 
its limitations and strength. A 
few years on a sailer are of 
great educational value in this 
respect.* 

V 

Wire Rope 

Many kinds of wire rope are now being manufactured, the 
art having reached a high state of perfection.! On shipboard 
wire rope is used in many places, all standing rigging is of wire, 
many mooring lines and hawsers are of wire, and the use of 
hemp clad flexible wire rope for cargo whips has become standard 
practice. Definite knowledge of the construction and uses of 
wire rope should be a part of the equipment of the seaman who 
is up in his profession. 

* A very handy and complete folder called Knots the Sailors Use, is issued 
by The Whitlock Cordage Co., of 46 South St., New York. This is very use¬ 
ful for the youngster on board ship to carry in his pocket while learning the 
art of knotting and splicing. 

f Stranded bronze-wire ropes were found in the Pompeian ruins. Modern 
wire ropes are a development of the nineteenth century. 























110 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Wire rope is generally of six strands and differs in the number 
of wires in each strand. 

Wire rope designed for use as standing rigging is less flexible, 
is generally galvanized and consists of larger wires. 

Six strands, seven to 
twelve wires to a strand, 
and hemp core, is the usual 
construction. 

Wire rope used for haw - 
Standing rigging sers and mooring lines is 

six stranded, twelve or more 
wires to a strand, hemp core in each strand and in the center 
of the strands. 

Deep sea towing hawsers 
are designed with six strands 
and thirty seven wires to each 
strand with no hemp core in 
the strands but with the usual 
hemp center core. 

Wire running rope is designed with the usual number of 

strands, each strand consist¬ 
ing of a circle of twelve wires 
about a large hemp core, 
and with a large hemp core 
in the center. 

Deep sea towing hawsers Ver y man y s P ecial ‘yP es of 

wire rope are made but the 
principle of flexibility through looser construction, or strength 
through the reverse where 
wire is to be stationary, is 
seen in all of them. Only a 
few typical sections of wire 
rope can be shown. 

Armored wire rope consists 
of flat wire wound around the W " e running rope 

individual strands. It is used extensively in wrecking and other 
similar operations. 

Special types of wire rope with metal heart wires of flat or 
triangular section are used, but these types do not specially 





Hawsers and mooring lines 






ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


111 


commend themselves to use on board ship. Some of these are 
five stranded. 



Armored wire rope 



Tiller or hand rope 




Wire rope is made of the following materials: 

Wrought iron.relative strength 1 

Crucible steel. “ “ 2 

Plow steel. “ “ 2.5 

Monitor steel. “ “ 3 

Wire rope, because of its great strength, and lack of stretching 
power, is to be used with great care. When mooring with wire 
it is very essential that all parts of the rope bear an equal stress. 
The writer has in mind the case of an eighteen thousand ton 
(displacement) steamer moored to a wharf in San Francisco 
some years back. At the full strength of the tide, running ebb, 
with stern sticking some hundred feet out beyond the bulkhead, 
the ship was pulled off from her wharf. The breast lines aft 
were under high tension—the parts leading back around the 
posts on the wharf were not taking their full load, and the stand¬ 
ing part snapped. Then the rest of the breast lines snapped or 
unshipped, the stress was taken up by the springs, they snapped, 
and in less than five minutes the ship, seemingly secure with 
heavy wires, was cross ways in the slip, her starboard quarter 
against the cluster piles on the next wharf—luckily there was 
nothing in between to be crushed. What happened when we 
breasted her back, against the tide, using a ten-inch manila line, 
and a drunken fireman, returning at midnight, insisted upon 
boarding the ship upon this line, stretching some fifty feet to 
the wharf, is another story and finds no place in a book on 
“ seamanship.” 

Wire hawsers are excellent things however when handled with 
care and understanding. The first thing to beware of in hand¬ 
ling lines is the constant danger of kinks. In uncoiling a wire 

5 






112 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




great care must be taken in this respect. Also when hauling on a 
line, and then slacking up, to shift the end, a large bight may 


Wrong way to uncoil a wire rope 

Wire ropes for deck use are generally stowed on stationary 
reels fitted with handles and gears for winding. This is the 
only way to properly take care of such ropes. The wires should 


Correct way to uncoil a wire rope 


run out, drop on a string piece and kink before the winches or 
capstans are started again. Always look out for this when using 
wires. 




ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


113 





be oiled and protected from the wet by waterproof tarpaulin 
covers. Galvanizing is the best method of protection, however, 
and even such ropes should be coated when dry with a certain 
amount of raw linseed oil. 

Greasy oils are worse than 
useless on ship ropes. Do 
not grease your lines; we all 
know they are hard enough to 
handle as it is. Linseed oil 
dries and gives a better hold, 
and also protects. 

The hemp core in wire ropes 
serves as a reservoir for oil 
and helps in the lubrication. 

Wire rope on shipboard is 
seldom used over sheaves, ex¬ 
cept in the case of heavy pur¬ 
chases where the falls are of 
wire. Care should be taken 
to use large blocks, and where 
possible avoid all short nips in 
the rope. 


In using wire rope falls for 
heavy weights go very slowly, 
also the hauling part of the 
rope should be taken around 
the drum of a heavy winch and 
end secured. Never lead such 
hauling parts to a capstan un¬ 
less the end of the rope is in 
turn secured to a stout new 
manila messenger and this, in 
turn, led to a second winch or Wrong way to take out a kink 
capstan always under stress. 

If no second winch can be used take in the slack around a 
heavy bollard, keeping a sufficient number of turns at all 
times. 










114 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Correct Way to Remove Kinks from Wire Rope 
Here is the way to straighten out a kink that has not been 
made permanent by pulling it into the rope, or “ pulling the 
kink through,” as rope users sometimes call it. 




As soon as a loop—always the beginning of a kink—is noticed, 
it should be “ taken in hand ” at once. By all means prevent 













ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


115 


tension on the rope, or the result will be permanent injury to the 
rope. 

Having secured your kink while still in the formative stage, 
reverse the process that produced it. To do this, uncross the 
ends by pushing them apart, as shown in photographs. The 
small arrows show the directions in which the hands should 
move. 

Now turn the rope over and place the bent portion above the 
knee, then push downward until the rope appears as in last cut. 

From this point it is comparatively easy to straighten out the 
remaining bend by laying the rope on a board and pounding with 
a wooden mallet, or anything else handy that won’t injure the 
wires. 

With a very stiff rope, or one of large diameter, it may be 
necessary to do the first part of the operation on something more 
substantial than the human leg. Two people, even, may be 
required to do the work. But the small amount of energy and 
time expended in removing a kink properly will invariably pay 
in lengthening the life—and final cost—of wire rope. 

Hemp covered wire rope . This type of wire rope is of such 
special use in the handling of cargo and has proven so durable 
and effective that some additional mention should be made of it 
in a book on merchant service seamanship. 

It has many of the advantages of manila, is much smaller and 
easier to handle about a hatch, does not suffer damage readily 
when drafts of cargo are hauled out of a between deck, the fall 
scraping under the hatch coaming. 

It is from three to five times as strong as manila of equal size, 
and is half as heavy as manila of equal strength. 

It resists rust because of the tar and oil in the hemp service 
covering the strands. 

When wires break and stick through the hemp covering, dis¬ 
card the fall at once. 

Boat falls are being rove off with hemp-covered rope. This 
latter practice is to be looked upon with some consideration. On 
a very cold night this is not the easiest stuff in the world to 
handle. 

The following rules for the use of wire rope are given by the 
Navy Department: 


116 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Operation of wire rope. The principal causes of deterioration 
of wire rope are heavy abrasion, overstrain, bending, and cor¬ 
rosion. Evidence of abrasion is shown by the outside wires 
wearing thin in a short time. If the wires are little worn, break 
off squarely, sticking out all over the rope, there is evidence of 
an overload or severe bending. 

Size of sheave. The diameter of the sheave should be greater 
than fifteen times the diameter of the rope, and for inflexible 
rope a still larger diameter of sheave must be used. Ordinary 
commercial practice allows 1 foot diameter of sheave for %-inch 
diameter of the rope. 

Factor of safety. A factor of safety of five is recommended. 
For cranes and falls upon which there is sudden and repeated 
stress, it is safer to figure a factor of safety upon the elastic 
limit of the material rather than upon the tensile strength. 

Wire rope is generally designated by its diameter* and this 
should be measured as shown in the sketch, but seamen usually 
speak of wire rope by its circumference, as in the case of fibre 
ropes. Running wire rope should be discarded when the outside 
wires are reduced one half of their original diameter. 

Wire rope consists of wires running the full length of the 
rope, each one carefully inspected before use. It is one of the 
most reliable forms of rope, and barring kinks, and mishand¬ 
ling, is not liable to fail in an emergency. 

In ordering wire rope from the manufacturer, or in speci¬ 
fying it for ship’s use, state clearly what use is to be made of it. 
Standing rigging, mooring lines, or towing, etc. 

When wire rope is cut, a whipping should be clapped on each 
side of the place where the division is to be made, to prevent the 
rope from unlaying. Use a sharp hacksaw to make the cut. 

* It may be of interest to note the size of the great wire rope cables in 
use on the following bridges over the East River, New York. Each bridge is 
suspended on four cables. 


Brooklyn Williamsburg Manhattan 

Bridge Bridge Bridge 

Diameter of cable. 15.5" 18.75" 20.75" 

Number of wires.5,358 7,696 9,472 

Length of cable.3,577' 2,900 3,234 

Weight of each cable. 818 tons 1,086 tons 1,527 tons 

River span.1,595.5' 1,600' 1,470' 

Width of bridge. 85' 118' 120' 


All of these cables were made by the John A. Roebling’s Sons Co. of Tren¬ 
ton, N. J. The wires are not twisted, but are held together by steel bands, 
and heavy service. 








ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


117 


VI 

Splicing Wire Rope 

The most important splice used aboard ship when working 
wire is the eye splice. The short splice may be used when 
wire is to remain standing and only a moderate amount is to be 
expended in making the splice. The long splice is not made 
very often, except perhaps in piecing out wire ridge ropes, and 
the like. Large handling lines are seldom spliced. The long 
splice finds its greatest application in the joining of ends in wire 
transmission lines ashore and the instructions for making this 
splice given by many of the wire rope manufacturers have this 
use in mind. 

Wire splicing is an art that calls for a great deal of gumption. 
The successful splicer of wire uses his head first and his “ beef ” 
afterwards. One of the best sailor men the writer ever was 
shipmates with, a slight young chap, walked on board his ship not 
long ago after many years had passed. He was in charge of 
the wire rope department of a large manufacturing plant, having 
gained the job through his ability to splice wire. 



1—a j » shaped splicing pins. 2—Round splicing pins. 3—Taper 
spike. 4—Knife. 5 — Wire cutters. 6—Wooden mallets. 7—Hemp rope 
strap. 8—Hickory stick. 


Tools shown in the picture are used by the John A. Roeb- 
ling’s Sons Co. in splicing wire. 






118 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The tools used in wire splicing are important and should be 
rightly handled. In splicing stiff rope a rigging screw is needed, 
or better still a vise. A sharp cold chisel, a hammer and a 
wooden mallet, several marline spikes and a special flat-pointed 
marline spike are useful. 

The tools shown in the illustration are used as follows: The 
“ T ” shaped splicing pins for opening the lay of rope. The round 
splicing pins for working in between strands. The taper spike 
for opening the strands and taking out the hemp center. Knife 
for cutting the hemp core. Wire cutters for cutting off ends of 
strands. Wooden mallets to hammer down any uneven surfaces. 
In addition to these the hemp rope strap and hickory stick is 
used to untwist the strands, as shown in the illustration. 

Many rope splicers prefer the “ T ” shaped splicing pin to the 
taper spike for opening strands. 

Seizing wire, marline, and at least two small handy billy 
tackles to use as jiggers, in rousing through strands when 
tucking, are useful. A small steel chain and hook, to use as a 
strap, is also handy. Where possible it is easier to work the 
wire on a rigger’s or machine bench. Also have some slush 
to lubricate the strands when pulling through. 

Never cut wire until a good stout whipping is on it at both sides 
of the cut. When unlaying for a splice have the rope whipped 
where it is to join. In the case of a long splice this whipping is 
removed when following through the strands. In making an eye 
splice it can remain in place while the splice is being tucked. 
If a thimble is to be fitted the whipping will cut out when the 
thimble is hammered into the eye, that is if the job is a neat 
close splice. 

The eye splice is most often used on board ship. Expert 
riggers favor the following method of turning in this splice. 

1st. Clap on a stout whipping from one to four feet from end 
of wire rope, depending upon its size. 

2d. Whip the end of each strand with strong sail twine. Un¬ 
lay the strands and cut out heart of rope (not of strands). 

3d. Place rope in splicing box or vise in position shown by 
illustration, eye away from you, bight of rope under your right 
arm. 

4th. Untwist rope, using heaver as shown in by cut on page 121. 


ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


119 


The eye is lying flat, and the strands to be tucked lie against 
the bight on the right side, that is, on the side away from you. 

5th. Open a way through the middle of the bight, 
spike horizontal, pointing away from you. This is 
easy when enough turn has been taken out of the 
bight by the heaver. 

6th. Take top one of strands to be tucked, and 
shove it through the middle of rope, following the 
spike which may be withdrawn as tucking strand 
goes through. When through, tuck this strand, 
around the strand of bight lying above it. 

7th. Take next strand, down through middle, 
having opened the way again, but only under two a rigging screw 
strands, and around the strand lying just above it. 

8th. Take next strand) 
down through middle open¬ 
ing, but only under and 
around one strand. 

9th. Now take next strand, 
(fourth), and tuck it over and 
around the next strand to 
right. 

10th. Take next one over 
and around the next. 

11th. Take last strand over 
and around the last un¬ 
touched strand on the bight. 

Note: All strands are 
tucked around in the same 
direction that the wires run 
in the strand. Strands are 
then tucked once more, 
around and around, sail- 
maker fashion, then heart is 
taken out of strands and half 
of the wires are cut out and 

the splice is tucked twice more. 

Finish the splice by parcelling with tarred canvas and serve 
over all with hambroline. The thimble is usually pounded into 



O 


A rigger's vise, which is of great 
service in splicing eyes , etc. 
















120 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the eye after it is formed, sometimes after the first tuck is made, 
the strands being hauled close with a jigger, or by use of the 
pipe heaver. 



Shortsplice. 1st. Clap on a good seizing two or three feet 
from each end. 

2d. Unlay the strands and take out the hemp heart. 

3d. Marry the ends, interlocking the twelve strands. 



Eye formed with clamps 

Always have nuts on side of standing part, as shown 


4th. Stop down the ends on one side and proceed to tuck the 
other into the rope over one and under two strands opening the 
rope with the flat-ended spike. Push spike in far enough to get 
the strands through before withdrawing it. Tuck twice whole 
strand, once one half, and once one quarter. Then take off 
the stop and repeat with the other set of strands. 

It is well to parcel and serve this splice. 

Long splice. 1st. Clap on seizings from eight to ten feet 
from the end of each rope, eight for an inch and a half rope and 
longer for larger sizes. 

2d. Unlay the strands to the seizings. Cut out the center 
heart (not the heart of the strands as in the other splices). 

3d. Marry the ropes, interlocking the strands. Follow the 
strands along to each side of the joint, stopping them in place 
at about four foot intervals, and cut off the strands about a foot 
and a half from the rope. 

4th. Starting with the left-hand pair, unlay the rope with the 
heaving stick applied as shown, pick out the hemp heart for a 



ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


121 



6 ' 


Method of making long splice 


Opening strands before tucking 

Wrap the endless piece of manila rope around the wire rope as shown in 
plate and insert stick in loop. Pull the end of the stick so that the wire 
rope will be untwisted between the vise and the stick. 



























122 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


foot each way, cutting it with a sharp knife. Measure the 
strand to be tucked and cut off leaving a length equal to half of 
the heart removed. Shove the strand down into the center of 
the rope in place of the heart; untwist the heavers. Do this 
with each strand, dipping down one along side of the other. 



To tuck strand 

Insert spike so that it will be over the projecting end and under the next 
two strands of the rope. Pull the spike toward yourself. This will cause it 
to travel along the rope, leaving an opening in front. While one hand is 
employed in moving the spike, the other hand holding the end of the strand 
should lay this end in the opening, as indicated in the picture. 

5th. Repeat this operation with each of the six pairs of strands. 

This completes the splice. It can hardly been seen. The 
lay of the rope, when under pressure grips the strands lodged in 
the center in place of the heart and the 
splice is practically as strong as the rope 
itself. It is a mistake to make the splice 
too short. 

Tucking the strands as in a rope splice 
is not recommended as it tends to weaken 
the rope on account of the nip. 

It is very good practice to let the young¬ 
sters on board ship try a hand, at wire 
splicing. Very often the ability to turn in a neat and strong 
splice in wire is of the utmost utility. 



Open and closed 
sockets 









ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


123 


Sockets are secured by passing end of rope through socket after 
wires have been cleaned. The best practice is to tin the wires. 
Molten zinc is then poured into the head of the socket, the lower 
end being stopped with clay. 

Bad practice is to turn over the ends of the wires (not tinned) 
and to use babbit metal which melts at a lower temperature 
than zinc. 

Before pouring zinc heat socket and wires with a blow torch. 


VII 

Rope Tables 

Approximate Weight and Strength Best Manila Rope 


Diameter, 

Inches 

Circum¬ 
ference in 
Inches 

No. of Feet 
in i Lb. 

Weight of 
i,ooo Feet, 
Lbs. 

Co 

Length, Feet 

ils 

Weight, Lbs. 

Strength of 
New Manila 
Rope, Lbs. 


6 thd.fine 

75 

feet 

14 

2,280 

30 

500 

i 

6 “ 

55 


20 

2,600 

50 

620 

A 

9 “ 

41 

« 

30 

1,870 

55 

1,000 

f 

12 “ 

26 

it 

42 

1,690 

65 

1,275 

inr 

If 

19 

it 

50 

1,500 

75 

1,875 

i 


13f 

it 

75 

1,350 

90 

2,400 

9 

If 

10 

it 

105 

1,200 

125 

3,300 

£ 

2 

7f 

t< 

130 

1,200 

155 

4,000 

3 

2f 

6 

it 

159 

1,200 

190 

4,700 

A 

T6 

2f 

5 

a 

196 

1,200 

235 

5,600 

7. 

2f 

4 

tt 

225 

1,200 

272 

6,500 

1 8 

3 

3f 

t< 

297 

1,200 

325 

7,500 

1 Yjj 

3f 

2f 

ti 

317 

1,200 

380 

8,900 

1| 

3f 

2\ 

tt 

363 

1,200 

435 

10,500 

if 

3f 

2k 

it 

421 

1,200 

505 

12,500 

if 

4 

19 tt 

Ittt 

475 

1,200 

570 

14,000 

u 

4 f 

If 

it 

596 

1,200 

715 

17,000 

if 

5 

4 

tt 

738 

1,200 

885 

20,000 

if 

5f 

l 

tt 

888 

1,200 

1,065 

25,000 

2 

6 

10 

inches 

1,063 

1,200 

1,275 

30,000 

2\ 

6f 

8f 

it 

1,250 

1,200 

1,500 

33,000 

2\ 

7 

7f 

it 

1,455 

1,200 

1,745 

37,000 

2\ 

7f 

6f 

tt 

1,667 

1,200 

2,000 

43,000 

2 f 

8 

5f 

it 

1,900 

1,200 

2,280 

50,000 

2f 

8f 

5 

it 

2,142 

1,200 

2,570 

56,000 

3 

9 

4f 

tt 

2,405 

1,200 

2,885 

62,000 

3f 

9f 

4 

a 

2,671 

1,200 

3,205 

68,000 

3f 

10 

1 5 

•5 8 

tt 

2,984 

1,200 

3,580 

75,000 


The relative strength of Manila to Sisal is about as 7 is to 5. Manila, 
Sisal and Jute ropes weigh (about) alike. Tarred Hemp Cordage will weigh 
(about) one fourth more. 
















124 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Comparison of Strength between Wire Rope and Manila Rope 

Approximate Breaking Stress Calculated in Tons of 2,000 Pounds 


Wire Transmission Rope. One 
Hemp Core Surrounded by Six 
Strands of Seven Wires Each 


Wire Hoisting Rope. One Hemp Core 
Surrounded by Six Strands of Nineteen 
Wires Each 


Diame- 



Extra 




Extra 


Average 

ter in 


Cruci- 

Strong 



Crucible 

Strong 


Inches 

Iron 

ble 

Cruci- 

Plow 

Iron 

Cruci¬ 

Plow 

Quality 


Cast 

ble 

Steel 

Cast 

ble 

Steel 

New 



Steel 

Cast 



Steel 

Cast 

Manila 




Steel 




Steel 


Rope 


Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

2| 





111 

211 

243 

275 

26 

2\ 





92 

170 

200 

229 

2l\ 

2\ 





72 

133 

160 

186 

18l 

2 





55 

106 

123 

140 

15 

H 





44 

85 

99 

112 

12\ 

If 





38 

72 

83 

94 

10 

U 

32 

63 

73 

82 

33 

64 

73 

82 

8f 

If 

28 

53 

63 

72 

28 

56 

64 

72 

7f 

a 

23 

46 

54 

60 

22.8 

47 

53 

58 

6f 

H 

19 

37 

43 

47 

18.6 

38 

43 

47 

5f 

i 

15 

31 

35 

38 

14.5 

30 

34 

38 

4 

7 

8 

12 

24 

28 

31 

11.8 

23 

26 

29 

3f 

f 

8.8 

18.6 1 

21 

23 

8.5 

17.5 

20.2 

23 

2\ 

f 

6 

13 

14.5 

16 

6 

12.5 

14 

15.5 

2 

9 

16 

4.8 

10 

11 

12 

4.7 

10 

11.2 

12.3 


f 

3.7 

7.7 

8.85 

10 

3.9 

8.4 

9.2 

10 

1- 


2.6 

5.5 

6.25 

7 

2.9 

6.5 

7.25 

8 

3 

4 

3 

8 

2.2 

4.6 i 

5.25 

5.9 

2.4 

4.8 

5.30 

5.75 

f 

A 

1.7 

3.5 

3.95 

4.4 

1.5 

3.1 

3.50 

3.8 

| 

i 

4 

1.2 

2.5 

2.95 

3.4 








1.1 

2.2 

2.43 

2.65 

1 0 

1 

4 


—Waterbury Co* 


Stowage Space Required For Rope of Various Sizes 


Coils of 1,200 Feet or 200 Fathoms 365.76 Meters 


Size 

Coil Dimensions 

Cubic 

Feet 

Size 

Coil Dimensions 

Cubic 

Feet 

6thd. fine 

8" 

X 

11" 

X 

11" 

.56 

41/4 

in. 

27" 

X 

37" 

X 

37" 

21.39 

6thd. 

9" 

X 

12" 

X 

12" 

.75 

4l/ 2 

<{ 

29" 

X 

38" 

X 

38" 

24.23 

9thd. 

10" 

X 

14" 

X 

14" 

1.13 

43/4 

« 

30" 

X 

41" 

X 

41" 

29.18 

12thd. 

11" 

X 

15" 

X 

15" 

1.43 

5 

(< 

30" 

X 

43" 

X 

43" 

32.10 

15thd. 

12" 

X 

16" 

X 

16" 

1.77 

51/4 

<( 

31" 

X 

45" 

X 

45" 

36.32 

18thd. 

13" 

X 

17" 

X 

17" 

2.17 

5V 2 

it 

33" 

X 

47" 

X 

47" 

42.18 

IV 2 in. 

15" 

X 

18" 

X 

18" 

2.81 

53/4 

<< 

32" 

X 

48" 

X 

48" 

42.66 

l3/ 4 « 

15" 

X 

21" 

X 

21" 

3.82 

6 

u 

33" 

X 

48" 

X 

48" 

44. 

2 “ 

17" 

X 

22" 

X 

22" 

4.76 

6i/ 2 

u 

33" 

X 

53" 

X 

53" 

53.64 

21/4 “ 

17" 

X 

26" 

X 

26" 

6.65 

7 

u 

35" 

X 

55" 

X 

55" 

61.27 

2V 2 “ 

19" 

X 

25" 

X 

25" 

6.87 

7V 2 

it 

36" 

X 

59" 

X 

59" 

72.52 

23/ 4 “ 

20" 

X 

29" 

X 

29" 

9.73 

8 

«( 

37" 

X 

61" 

X 

61" 

79.67 

3 “ 

22" 

X 

30" 

X 

30" 

11.46 

8V2 

«( 

48" 

X 

59" 

X 

59" 

96.69 

3l/ 4 “ 

24" 

X 

31" 

X 

31" 

13.34 

9 

(( 

45" 

X 

62" 

X 

62" 

100.10 

3V 2 “ 

25" 

X 

34" 

X 

34" 

16.72 

9V 2 

«( 

46" 

X 

64" 

X 

64" 

109.03 

33/ 4 “ 

25" 

X 

35" 

X 

35" 

17.72 

10 

(( 

46" 

X 

67" 

X 

67" 

119.50 

4 “ 

27" 

X 

36" 

X 

36" 

20.25 



—Plymouth Cord 

age Co. 













































ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


125 


Approximate Comparison of Strength 

{Manila and Hemp Covered Wire) 


Circum¬ 

ference 


Manila Rope 


Diameter 


Approximate 
Breaking Strain 


Crescent Hemp Clad Wire Rope 
Diameter 


Iron 


Crucible 

Steel 


Extra 

Strong 

Crucible 

Steel 


Plough 

Steel 


If 

2 

21 

21 

2 | 

3 

31 

31 

3f 

4 

41 

41 

4f 

5 

51 

6 

61 

7 

71 

8 

81 

9 

91 

10 


TS 


H 

1 

1 

Its 

H 

i* 

if 

11 

i* 

if 

if 

2 

2f 
21 
21 
21 
21 
3 

31 

31 


2,250 

3,000 

4,000 

5,000 

5,800 

7,000 

8,000 

9,200 

11,000 

12,000 

13.500 

15.500 
17,000 
19,000 

23.500 
27,000 

31.500 
37,000 
42,000 
48,000 
54,000 
61,000 
67,000 
75,000 


1 

U 


H 


H 

11 


16 


1 JS 


1 

’ll 


T6 


T6 


TS 

V 

5 

8 


—Geo. C. Moon Co., Inc. 


Wire Rope Tables (U. S. Navy) 

Navy Standard Mooring Hawsers 

Composed of 6 strands with a hemp core, each strand consisting of 14 wires 
and a center of hemp or jute yarn. Large eye splicefitted at one end and 
thimble in opposite end to attach to reel. 


Diameter 

Approxi¬ 
mate Cir¬ 
cumference 

Weight 

per 

Fathom 

Weight 
per Coil, 
ioo Fms. 

Breaking 

Stress 

Use 

H-inch 

1 -inch 

11-inch 

11-inch 

1 x^-inch 
1 f-inch 

21-inch 

3 -inch 
31-inch 

4 -inch 

41-inch 

5 -inch 


Pounds 

447 

644 

830 

1,080 

1,377 

1,750 

Pounds 

28,400 

41,500 

53,740 

69,380 

87,000 

113,700 

Note that Navy standard 
mooring hawsers may 
be made in the follow¬ 
ing lengths: 11-inch, 

640 fathoms; 11-inch, 
490 fathoms; l^-inch, 
375 fathoms; 1 f-inch, 
300 fathoms. 


























































































126 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Wire Rope Tables (U. S. Navy) 

Galvanized Steel Wire Rope. 


Composed of 6 strands, with a hemp core, 19 wires to a strand; or 18 wires 
with a center of jute, cotton, or hemp twine. 



Approx- 

Weight 

Weight 

Breaking 


Diameter 

imate Cir- 

per 

per Coil, 

Use 


cumference 

Fathom 

ioo Fms. 

Stress 


Inches 

Inches 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 


IS 

1 

0.90 

90 

6,170 

Standing rigging. 

3 

8 

If 

1.27 

127 

8,740 

Guys. 


if 

1.71 

171 

11,760 

Boat slings, running rig¬ 





ging re-inch and less. 

* 

1* 

2.23 

223 

15,230 

Topping lifts. 

TS 

If 

2.80 

280 

19,150 

(For coaling booms.) 

5 

8 

2 

3.60 

360 

24,680 


3 

4 

21 

5.07 

507 

34,980 

Wheel ropes. 

it 

2f 

5.94 

594 

40,800 

(f^-inch and under.) 

f 

21 

6.88 

688 

47,040 

1 

3 

9.00 

900 

60,960 



31 

10.80 

1,080 

70,550 


1* 

31 

11.60 

1,160 

78,730 


1 

3f 

13.00 

1,300 

87,320 


If 

4 

14.48 

1,448 

98,720 


If 

41 

17.30 

1,730 

118,450 



41 

18.80 

1,880 

128,980 


If 

41 

20.38 

2,038 

139,960 


H 

5 

23.23 

2,323 

160,230 



Galvanized Steel Wire Rope. 


Composed of 6 strands, with a hemp core, each strand consisting of 37 
wires, or 36 wires with a hemp, jute, or cotton center. 



Approx¬ 

Weight 

Weight 

Breaking 


Diameter 

imate Cir¬ 

per 

per Coil, 

Use 


cumference 

Fathom 

ioo Fms. 

Stress 



Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 


f -inch 

1 f-inch 

1.32 

132 

8,460 


rf-inch 

1 f-inch 

1.80 

180 

11,520 


f -inch 

1 f-inch 

2.34 

234 

16,330 


X^-inch 

1 f-inch 

3.00 

300 

19,040 


f -inch 

2 -inch 

3.72 

372 

23,520 

Towing hawsers; crane 

f -inch 

2 f-inch 

5.34 

534 

35,730 

falls; bridles, large and 

f -inch 

2 f-inch 

7.20 

720 

46,150 

small; tiller ropes; tiller 

1 -inch 

3 -inch 

9.48 

948 

60,170 ! 

ropes on ships’ boats; 

1 f-inch 

3 f-inch 

12.00 

1,200 

76,200 

cat and fish pendants; 

1 f-inch 

4 -inch 

14.70 

1,470 

94,000 

clear hawse pendants; 

1 f-inch 

4 f-inch 

18.00 

1,800 

113,800 

dip ropes; torpedo 

1 1 -inch 

4 f-inch 

21.30 

2,130 

131,690 

slings, and slings for 

1 f-inch 

5 -inch 

24.90 

2,490 

154,880 

general hoisting. 

1 f-inch 

5 f-inch 1 

29.10 ! 

2,910 

184,300 


2 -inch 

6 f-inch 

37.80 

3,780 

240,760 , 


2 f-inch 

7 f-inch 

48.00 

4,800 

299,100 




























ROPE—KNOTS—SPLICES 


127 


Wire Rope Tables (U. S. Navy) 
Plow Steel Wire Rope. 


Composed of 6 strands, with a hemp core, 19 wires to a strand; or 18 
wires, with a center of jute, cotton, or hemp twine. 


Diameter 

Approx¬ 
imate Cir¬ 
cumference 

Weight 

per 

Fathom 

Weight 
per Coil, 
ioo Fms. 

Breaking 

Stress 

Use 

Inches 

8 

2 

5 

8 

3 

4 

1 

H 

if 
i A 

Inches 

If 

If 

2 

2f 

2f 

3 

3§ 

4 

4 f 

Pounds 

1.27 

2.23 

3.60 

5.07 

6.88 

9.00 

11.60 

14.48 

18.80 

Pounds 

127 

223 

360 

507 

688 

900 

1,160 

1,448 

1,880 

Pounds 

10,340 

18,000 

29,160 

41,350 

55,640 

72,040 

93,040 

116,690 

152,430 



Composed of 6 strands, with a hemp core, each strand consisting of 37 
wires, or 36 wires with a hemp, jute, or cotton center. 


Diameter 

Approx¬ 
imate Cir¬ 
cumference 

Weight 

per 

Fathom 

Weight 
per Coil, 
ioo Fms. 

Breaking 

Stress 

Use 

f-inch 

f-inch 

1 f-inch 

1 f-inch 

Pounds 

1.32 

2.34 

Pounds 

132 

234 

Pounds 

10,000 

19,300 

Transmission rope for 

f-inch 

2 -inch 

3.72 

372 

27,790 

steering gear; boat 

f-inch 

2 f-inch 

5.34 

534 

40,000 

crane falls; crane falls, 

f-inch 

2 f-inch 

7.20 

720 

54,400 

afloat and ashore; haw¬ 

1 -inch 

3 -inch 

9.48 

948 

71,100 

sers, where great 

1 f-inch 

3 f-inch 

12.00 

1,200 

90,000 

strength is required, 

1 f-inch 

5 -inch 

24.90 

2,490 

183,000 

relieving tackles. 

2 -inch 

6 f-inch 

37.80 

3,780 

284,500 

























128 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Rough Rules for Getting the Strength of Ropes 

An officer may want to make a quick lift and not have tables 
handy. It is well to memorize these rules. 

To get size of manila rope suitable for a given load. Mul¬ 
tiply load in tons by 7. The square root of this will be the size 
of the rope in inches (circumference). 

A. Five ton load. 

5 X 7 = 35. 

V35 = 5.9, say 6". 


The table gives six-inch manila as having a strength of 30,000 
lbs.; this would give us a factor of safety of 3. 

B. Two ton load. 

2 X_7 = 14. 

Vl4 = 3.7, say 3%". 


The table gives three and three quarter inch manila a strength 
of 12,500 lbs., or a little better than 3 for a factor of safety. 

To work the rule backward the safe working load for any rope 
is found by squaring the circumference and dividing by seven. 

For working purposes wire rope may be considered three 
times the strength of manila rope, of the same size. 

When tables are handy the safe working load of rope may be 
taken as about one sixth of the tabulated ultimate strength. 
Manila rope may be stressed to a greater degree, say one third 
of its ultimate strength when the load is only to be applied for a 
short period and without jerks. 

These are very loose rules. Never overestimate the strength 
of a piece of gear. Err on the safe side, but of course use judg¬ 
ment, and this comes with familiarity in using rope. 



Right 


t 



Wrong 


How to measure wire rope 



















CHAPTER 4 


BLOCKS AND TACKLES 

I 

Blocks 

Blocks are among the most important fittings on board ship 
and their construction and use should be understood by all sea¬ 
men. The blocks used on lifeboat davits, and the blocks at the 
lower end of lifeboat falls are of the utmost importance. These 
will be specially treated in the chapter devoted to lifeboats. 

Blocks are usually single, double, treble, or fourfold, etc. 
The number of sheaves indicating the name of the block. 

A block primarily consists of the shell, the strap, the sheave, 
or sheaves, and the pin, the hook or shackle, and some are 
fitted with a becket for attaching a stationary part of the fall. 

Blocks are usually strapped with steel, or have interior straps, 
leading down from the hook. Formerly blocks were strapped 
with rope. 

Sheaves are bushed with metal and are sometimes fitted with 
rollers or self-iubricating bearings, special metal filled with 
graphite plugs. 

Bushings are the bearing a sheave has upon the pin. The 
three styles shown are those most commonly used. 



Plain Roller Self -lubricating 

Bushings 


In a Plain Bushed sheave the bearing is simply a hole drilled 
in cast iron. These, are most commonly used. 

129 



130 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


--Hook 

Thimble 

Steel Straps 


rS wallows. 


Roller Bushed sheaves bear on rollers that in turn bear on the 
pin. These run with less friction than the common sheave, and 
on this account are generally the favorite where hand power is 
used for hoisting. Also referred to as Patent bushings. 

Self-lubricating sheaves are made with a perforated bronze 
bushing, the holes being filled with a special lubricant. As the 

bearing wears, the lubricant is 
distributed, thus the name “self- 
lubricating.” On account of 
their construction, these sheaves 
are the most durable, and are 
generally used in wire rope 
blocks. 

Use no oil on self-lubricating 
sheaves. 

Sheaves are made of metal or 
of lignum vitae. 

The parts of a block are best 
shown by a drawing. 

Special blocks. Blocks often 
take their names from the posi¬ 
tion and use to which they are 
put. This is specially so in sail¬ 
ing craft. 

Cargo blocks. Usually the 
block at the boom end. Large 
metal blocks, often with wooden 
cheeks. Wide swallow, and 
mounted with swivel neck, and 
shackle, or moused hook. 

A whip is rove through the cargo block. 

Snatch blocks. Blocks fitted with hinged shell, or 
hook so that a rope may be snatched on the bight. 

Used as lead blocks in warping, and in leading boat 
falls to winches, or in leading topping lifts to winches. 

Snatch blocks are among the most useful of the loose 
blocks carried by a vessel. In hooking a snatch 
block do so with the point of the hook up, so that 
when the load comes off the block it will not unhook Snatch 
as it slams down on the deck. block 



Lower Block 


- Wood Shell 

''-Swallow 

''-Steel Strap 
~' i '-Lashing or Hooking Eye 

Parts of a block 






























BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


131 


Lead blocks. Blocks slung to the mast table under the booms, 
and giving a fair lead to the cargo whips from the cargo block 
down to the drum of the winch. Of course there are many other 
blocks that may be styled lead blocks. 

Gin blocks. Metal blocks with open metal shell 
or frame. Usually the shell merely consists of a 
guard to keep the rope from running off the score 
of the sheave. 

Fish block. The lower block of a fish tackle, 
fitted with a fish hook, used in fishing an old 
fashioned anchor. See Chapter on ground tackle 
(Chap. 17). 

Cat block. Used where anchors are catted , the 
upper sheaves of the cat fall being rove through 
the cat head, the lower through the cat block, fitted with the cat 
hook. Ancient lore but still in service at sea on many craft. 

Fish and cat blocks are always double and sometimes treble 
blocks. 

Sister blocks. Two sheaves one above other in same shell 
fitted to lead their falls in opposite directions. 

A secret block, is a single block with closed shell, two holes 
in lower part admit passage of fall. Used to prevent fouling by 
other gear, or sails. Used on bunt jigger. 

Fiddle block , a double block, sheaves in same position with 
relation to each other as in a sister block but falls lead the same 
way. Used under the eyes of the rigging where a double block 
may be needed but there is only room for a single width of shell. 

Clump block. A small egg-shaped block with rounded shell. 
Very strong. Used at the end of staysail pendants for hauling 
easily over the stays next aft. 

Cheek block. A half shell covering a sheave on the side of a 
mast or other spar. Used on gaffs and booms. 

Jeer blocks are large blocks used in sending up and down lower 
yards. Jeer blocks are often a permanent part of the slings, 
a slip hook being fitted between them. 

Dasher block. The small signal halyard block at the end 
of the spanker or monkey gaff. (Monkey gaff is the small signa 
gaff sometimes fitted on the after mast of sailing craft; it carries 
no sail and is supported by an eye under the topgallant mast 
head, and is steadied by vangs to the horns of the cross trees.) 



Gin block 


132 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Shea ve - - -u'Q / 

: ^ ''Breech 

il ' * xi ( 

Cheek 

(| j I c 

; h- -Pin 

Swallow- ty JJ 'V 

< J-Scort 

Seizing - - * 

Strap 

Thimb/e-"\z? 



Rope. Strapped block 


Tye blocks < Large steel blocks on the topsail and topgallant 
yards. The topsail tye reeves through the former, and top¬ 
gallant tyle through the latter. Only used with heavy yards. 

Tail block. Handy block fitted 
with a tail for clapping on gear, etc. 
A small tail snatch block is handy 
for hauling in the deep sea lead 
line when this is used. 

Quarter blocks, clew line blocks, 
hanging blocks, sheet blocks, hal¬ 
yard blocks, brace blocks, brail 
blocks, ganiline blocks, downhaul blocks, etc., take their names 
from the gear that is rove through them, from their position, etc. 
These will be easily identified by a study of the 
rigging. 

Blocks are hooked or shackled. Hooks should 
always be moused when there is danger of 
them unhooking. Mousing a hook with serving 
wire or with a small shackle strengthens it to a 
considerable extent. 

Lead blocks are sometimes fitted with swivel 
connections, and various other devices, such as 
ball and sockets. These fancy things are usu¬ 
ally to be found on yachts rather than commer¬ 
cial vessels. 

Extra heavy blocks for wire rope. Sheaves 
from 16 to 30 inches diameter. Capacity from 
20 to 100 tons. 

Weighted blocks for wire rope. These blocks 
are made with overhauling weights running from 100 to 500 
pounds. 

Standardizing Tackle Blocks* 



Hook moused 
with wire or 
marline, etc. 


Heavy steel blocks for lifting large weights are of special 
interest. The following notes on the design of heavy metal 
blocks may be of interest to those who like to go deeper into 
the subject of blocks. 

* Data supplied by the Engineering Department of the Parish Supply and 
Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill. 







BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


133 


For some time, naval architects, engineers and draftsmen, as 
well as the owners and operators of various types of ships, have 
recognized the fact that there has been a sad lack of data in 
regard to the tackle blocks used in their rigging equipments. 
This has been especially true of the malleable iron shell and 
steel shell blocks used for heavy loads. 

It is true that tackle-block manufacturers have had certain 
standards of construction, and that it has been possible in some 
cases to secure from them dimensions of various parts and 
fittings. How these dimensions were arrived at, however, 
could not be determined, and it has been only 
through the wasteful process of repeated failure 
in actual service that tackle-block users have de¬ 
termined what sizes and types of blocks might 
be used for specific purposes. 

Because of these conditions, the Emergency 
Fleet Corporation was placed at a great disad¬ 
vantage during the war. Efforts were made to 
obtain adequate data from the block manufac¬ 
turers, but because of their inability to secure the 
complete information required it was necessary 
for their draftsmen to do the best they could with 
the material available. The extreme wasteful¬ 
ness of this method has been amply proven in 
the breaking and binding of the specification 
blocks when the ships were loading, and in the 
heartbreaking delays, due to the necessity of se¬ 
curing blocks for replacement. 

This state of affairs is known to all shipbuilders, and has 
often been deplored. To a lesser extent they, too, have had to 
learn by bitter experience, and the standards arrived at in their 
specifications are based almost entirely on observation and a 
knowledge of working conditions. 

An effort has been made by block manufacturers to remedy 
this lack of information, and tackle block users may now secure 
scientifically determined data in regard to every detail and speci¬ 
fication. Engineers have completed numerous experiments and 
tests, which have proved that in the design of a tackle block the 
stresses in various parts of the block, resulting fr 011 * the toad 
carried, may be determined with a considerable degree or 
accuracy. This information may be used in properly designing 
the various parts. 

Typical Calculations for Tackle Block Design 

As a typical example of the methods employed, a trifde, heavy- 
pattern, diamond-shell block, Fig. 1 may be taken. This block 



Hook mouse 
with a shackle 


134 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


has 12-inch sheaves designed to carry a load of 7 tons. The 
hook for the hoist is a number 13 Williams-Vulcan hook with a 
shank diameter of 1% inches. 



The strap is shown in Fig. 2. The center pin has a diameter 
of d = IV 2 inches. The important factor in the design of the 
pin is the bearing pressure of the bronze bushings in the hubs 
of the sheaves, per square inch of projected area. This is 

Q 14,000 

P = Z'Xd = 4%X 1% = 7,920 p0Unds per S( l uare inch ’ 
where: Q = total load on block, 

Z' = combined length of hubs of sheaves, 
d = diameter of pin. 

The resultant pressure is comparatively low because the more 
or less intermittent use of a tackle block permits much higher 
pressures, especially in the case of a high- 
grade bronze block. The pin may then be 
checked for bending stresses, considering it 
as a beam supported at both ends and car¬ 
rying a uniformly distributed load of 14,000 
pounds. However, the pin receives consid¬ 
erable support from the cheek plates be¬ 
tween the sheaves, which reduce the result¬ 
ant stresses very considerably; the amount 
of this reduction it is, however, impossible 
to calculate with any degree of accuracy. 
The sides of the strap are in tension, the 
weakest section being at the center pin. This section is shown 
in Fig. 3. The load is Q/ 2, so that we have the equation 


i h- ->i c i« 
CD 


<+- 

T- 

<-j -> 

—> 

<-b 




Fig. 2 


Q 




































BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


135 


in which S t is the safe tensile stress of the material. A factor of 
safety of 4 or 5 may be used, which will give a value of 12,000 
to 16,000 for mild steel. We can now assume a value for either 




Fig. 3 Fig. 4 

a or b and calculate the other dimension. Taking b at % inch, 
and S t at 12,000, the equation becomes; 

14 ’ 2 000 = (a - ll/ 2 ) X % x 12,000. 

Solving this for a, the result is a = 2.44 inches, which for reasons 
of construction is increased to 3 inches. 

The crown of the strap is treated as a beam supported at the 
center and carrying a load, Ql2 at each end. The dangerous 
section, Fig. 4, is at the center. The bending moment at this 
section is; 



We therefore have the equation; 



in which S b is the safe bending stress and Z is the section 
modulus, which for this section is 1/6 (c — 1%)/ 2 . The equa¬ 
tion thus becomes 


^ = 1/6 (c - l3/ 4 ) S>. 


A value of c is now assumed, say 4 inches, and S b is taken at 
16,000. Solving the equation for / the result is 


14,000 


X 7 = 1/6 (4 - 1 %)/ 2 X 16,000. 


and f = I ** * 14,000 X 7 _ 2 inches. 

J \474^T3/ 4 ) X 16,000 


The following calculation, from the same source, is most 
important. 










136 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Determining the Stresses in Wire Rope 

It may be well to calculate the stress in the wire rope which 
is ^4-inch diameter, the usual 6 strand, 19 wire per strand 
hoisting rope. A very important factor, frequently neglected, 
is the stress produced in wire rope due to its being bent over a 
sheave of comparatively small diameter. This stress must be 
added to the tensile stress produced by the load carried. 

According to Bach the stress due to bending a wire rope over a 
sheave is 



in which E is the modulus of elasticity (30,000,000 for steel), 
h is the diameter of the individual wires of the rope, and D is 
the sheave diameter. For a pair of triple blocks, each rope will 
carry 1/6 of the total load of 2,400 pounds. The diameter of the 
wire is approximately 1/15 of the rope diameter, or 0.05 inch. 
Then 

S b = % X 30,000,000 X ^ = 47,000 pounds per square inch. 
The stress due to the load S t is 



where A is the sectional area of each wire, and n is the number 
of wires in the rope, so that 

Sl = 119 X0°00196 = 10,300 P° unds P er square inch. 

The total stress is 

S = S b + S t = 57,300 pounds per square inch. 

It is thus seen that the bending stress in this case is by far the 
most important. For high-grade plow steel rope the factor of 
safety is about 3, which is not too low for such material. 

Ordering Blocks 

When ordering blocks from the maker, state the following: 
Size of block (length in inches), measuring shell, not hook and 
becket); number of sheaves; kind of connection, z.e., hook, 
shackle, ring, sister hooks, swivel, stiff, etc.; whether becket is 
required, or not; kind of shell, ash, lignum vitae, steel; kind 
of sheave, plain, roller bushed (sailors call them “ patent 



BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


137 


sheaves,” or self-lubricating. Also material, i.e., galvanized 
iron, or composition, or lignum vitae. 

It is also well to mention the use that is to be made of the block. 

II 

Tackles and Purchases 

Any mechanical advantage which increases the force as 
applied through rope and blocks is a purchase. And a tackle, as 
generally understood, is the same thing. The tackle may be of 
different kinds and still only have the same purchase. 

Also, purchases are referred to when we consider the handling, 
or purchasing , of heavy weights. 

The following concise table, inserted here by permission of 
Merriman Brothers, of Boston, sums up the theoretical and actual 
purchase of certain practical combinations of blocks, rope, and 
bushings. This is a very valuable table resulting from careful 
experiments. 


Table Showing Theoretical Purchase of Various Combinations of Blocks, 
together with Approximate Efficiency and Actual Purchase 


Combination 

Movable Block 

Bushing 

Theoretical 

Purchase 

Efficiency 

Actual 

Purchase 

For Manila Rope. 



Times 

Per Cent. 

Times 

f 

Single, 

Common 

2 

81 

1.62 

Two Single, 1 

without Becket 

Self-Lub. 

2 

87 

1.74 

6 in. I 


Patent 

2 

90 

1.8 

f 

Single, 

Common 

3 

60 

1.8 

Single and 1 

with Becket 

Self-Lub. 

3 

73 

2.19 

Double, 6 in. j 


Patent 

3 

78 

2.34 


Double, 

Common 

4 

48 

1.92 

Two Double, 1 

without Becket 

Self-Lub. 

4 

61 

2.44 

6 in. 1 


Patent 

4 

70 

2.8 


Double, 

Common 

4 

58 

2.32 

Two Double, I 

without Becket 

Self-Lub. 

4 

68 

2.72 

8 in. | 


Patent 

4 

75 

3 


Double, 

Common 

5 

41 

2.05 

Double and 1 

with Becket 

Self-Lub. 

5 

52 

2.6 

Triple, 6 in. j 


Patent 

5 

64 

3.2 


Double, 

Common 

5 

63 

3.15 

Double and I 

with Becket 

Self-Lub. 

5 

68 

3.4 

Triple, 12 in. j 


Patent 

5 

72 

3.6 

For Wire Rope. 






Single and J 

Single, 

Self-Lub. 

3 

91 

2.73 

Double, 10 in. \ 

with Becket 





Double and f 

Double, 

Self-Lub. 

5 

86 

4.3 

Triple, 10 in. \ 

with Becket 























138 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Theoretical and Actual Purchase and Efficiency 

Theoretically the purchase of a pair of blocks is equal to the 
number of parts of rope that go to the movable block. Thus, in 
the combination of two single blocks, the single without becket 
being the movable block, the theoretical purchase is two times; 
in the combination of a double and single block, the single block 
with becket being the movable block, the theoretical purchase 
is three times, etc. In practice, however, we find this theoretical 
purchase considerably reduced by the friction of the sheaves 
and rope, so that the actual purchase is always materially less 
than the theoretical purchase. 

If N = the number of parts of rope leading to the movable 
block, then Efficiency = 

Experiments in determining the efficiency of various combi¬ 
nations of blocks show considerable variation in result, de¬ 
pending not only upon the accuracy with which the blocks are 
made, but also upon the size and kind of rope. The results 
shown in the table may be taken as a fair average. 

It will be noticed that with the same number of sheaves in a 
purchase there is a marked increase in efficiency when large 
sheaves are used. 

It is customary to figure that working hand-over-hand, a man 
will pull about half his own weight. Given number of men 
available, weight to be lifted, the amount of purchase can be 
calculated. 

Next to knowing what combination of rope and blocks, to use 
the most important thing to consider is the size of rope, and the 
size of block to go with it. The tables following, also prepared 
by Merriman Brothers, are most useful. Such tables are of great 
utility to the ship’s officer when he is rigging for heavy weights, 
and are also of great assistance to the designer who lays out cargo 
and other ship’s gear. 

Standard blocks will, as a rule, not carry as much weight as the 
new rope that can be used in them. This is specially so of blocks 
with hook connection. Shackles are much stronger and should 
always be used for heavy lifts. 



BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


139 


Suitable Working Load for Blocks 


Regular Tackle Blocks with Loose Hooks 


Size 

Block 

Diameter 
Manila Rope 

Two Singles 
or Single 
and Double 

Two Doubles 
or Double 
and Triple 

Two Triples 

Inches 

Inches 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

5 

9 

1 ft 

250 

350 

500 

6 

X o 

3 

A 

400 

600 

800 

7 

3. 

600 

800 

1,200 

8 

7 

s 

800 

1,400 

2,000 

9 

T 

1,400 

2,000 

3,200 

10 

l 8 

2,000 

3,500 

5,000 

12 

1 £ 

4,000 

5,500 

7,000 

14 

n 

6,000 

7,500 

9,000 


Wide Mortise Tackle Blocks with Loose Hooks 


(With shackles one and one-half times the following load may be carried) 


Size 

Block 

Diameter 
Manila Rope 

Two Singles 
or Single 
and Double 

Two Doubles 
or Double 
and Triple 

Two Triples 
or Triple 
and Quadruple 

Inches 

Inches 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

8 

1 

l 


2 

10 

n 

2 

2\ 

3£ 

12 

Its 

3£ 

4* 

6 

14 

i r > 

1 8 

4* 

6 

7 

16 

1 3 

1 4 

7 

8 

10 


Extra Heavy Wide Mortise Blocks with Lashing Shackles 


1 

Size 

Block 

Diameter 
Manila Rope 

Two Doubles 
or Double 
and Triple 

Two Triples 
or Triple 
and Quadruple 

Two Quadruples 

Inches 

18 

20 

22 

24 

Inches 

2 

2i 

2\ • 

3 

1 

Tons 

20 

30 

35 

50 

Tons 

25 

35 

45 

65 

Tons 

30 

40 

55 

75 


Wire Rope Blocks with Shackles 


(With hooks not more than one-half the following load should be carried) 


Diameter 

Sheave 

Diameter 
Wire Rope 

Two Singles 
or Single 
and Double 

Two Doubles 
or Double 
and Triple 

Two Triples 
or Triple and 
Quadruple 

Inches 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

Inches 

h or f 

5 U 3 

8 4 

I “ i 

7 

8 

1 

Tons 

5 

7 

9 

12 

15 

Tons 

7 

10 

12 

17 

22 

Tons 

9 

12 

15 

22 

30 







































































140 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The relation of the length of shell, diameter of rope to be 
used and the diameter of the sheave is shown in the following 
Merriman table of vessel blocks: 


Vessel Blocks 

Galvanized Iron or Lignum-vitae Sheaves 


Size of Sheave 

Diameter of 
Rope 

Length of 
Shell 

Size of Sheave 

Diameter of 
Rope 

Length of 
Shell 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

If X f X f 

3 

8 

3 

9 X If X f 

If 

13 

2f X f X f 

f 

4 

9f X If X f 

If 

14 

3 x IX! 

9 

16 

5 

10 X 1 f X f 

If 

15 

3f X 1 X f 

f or f 

6 

11 X If X f 

H 

16 

4f X 1 X f 

f 

7 

12 X 2f X If 

2f 

18 

4 4 X If X f 

7 

8 

8 

13f X 2\ X If 

2f 

20 

Si X 11 X f 

f 

9 

14f X 3f X If 

3 

22 

6f X If X f 

1 

10 

15f X 3f X If 

3f 

24 

7f X If X f 

1 

11 

14 X 4f X If 

4 

26 

8 X If X f 

If 

12 





Note: The sheave dimensions are diameter of sheave, width of sheave 
and diameter of pin. 


Size of Rope. There should be a good allowance between 
the diameter of the rope and the thickness of the sheave. You 
will save trouble if you do not use larger 
rope than shown in table. 

Tackles 

Various combinations of rope and blocks 
are shown and named in the following il¬ 
lustrations. The rope rove through a series 
of blocks is called a fall. 

Single whip. Used for greater conveni¬ 
ence. Block stationary, no power gained. 
The cargo block and whip used for ordi¬ 
nary lifts on board ship illustrates this 
combination. 

Runner. Standing part made fast, and 
Gun tackle Luff tackle fall rove through a movable block. Power 
doubled (neglecting friction). The tye 
block on a yard is an illustration of this. The halyard purchase 
is shackled to the tye after it passes up over the masthead 
sheave. 

























BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


141 


Gun tackle. Two single blocks. Standing part of fall to 
becket in fixed block. Power doubled (neglecting friction). 

Luff or watch tackle. This is one of the handiest and most 
useful purchases on board ship. Double block stationary, or 
movable, depending on how used. Standing part of fall to 



_p_nNo 
yy~3) Friction 

' P_^J2\ With 
W~ 30) Friction 


Luff 


: y j No Friction 
--{$} With Friction 


Single whip 



Spanish burton 


P PM 

-yy=£ j No Friction 

kR ~Lof^ith F r,c f ,on 



-L=-^With Friction 


Gun tackle 


becket in single block. Power three or four, depending on 
which block is moving. Here it might be well to say that 
the power, less friction, is found by counting the parts of the 
fall at the movable block, or blocks. Also power is always 
gained at the expense of time. The greater the purchase the 
more rope must be hauled through the blocks. 

This purchase is used for many things on board ship, but finds 
its greatest use as a general utility tackle. The small watch 
tackle is called a handy billy. 

Twofold tackle. Two double blocks. Power four or five, 
depending upon which is the movable block. Friction increases 
with the number of sheaves. 

Combinations of double and triple blocks, and of two triple 






















142 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


blocks are used for heavy lifts. Fourfold purchases may be used. 

When making these heavy purchases the falls are crossed, so 
that the hauling part reeves through a middle sheave. This is 
done so that the blocks, which are quite wide, will not cant over 
while hauling. Heavy boat falls should be rove this way. 

Boat falls, with continuous falls, non-tipping blocks, and auto¬ 
matic releasing gear are treated in the chapter on Boats. 

Spanish burton. Seldom used—a relic of the past. Power 
three (neglecting friction). 

Double Spanish burton. So ancient that authorities begin 
to differ. Combination of a double and two single blocks. I 
have never seen a Spanish burton rigged and cannot see why it 
should ever be rigged in the present day. 

The following tackles are described and are generally either 
gun tackle or luff tackle purchases. 

Rolling tackles, hooked from quarter of lower yards to mast, 
to prevent undue strains on truss and parrel, during heavy 
weather. 

Boom tackle, used to guy out the booms of a fore and after 
when sailing before the wind, leads forward. 

Rudder tackle hooks to rudder pendants. An emergency gear. 

Relieving tackle , a combination of double and single blocks 
securing to tiller. Works with an endless fall and relieves the 
regular tiller tackles of the severe kick of the rudder in heavy 
weather. Also may be rigged to steer with in the case of rudder 
tackles parting. A sailing ship rig. 

Burton , a tackle hooked to a pendant near the mast head. 
Useful for heavy lifts, etc., on the deck or up and down the mast. 

Yard tackle , used to hoist out over the side. 

Stay tackle made fast to a stay, usually over a hatch, where 
no boom is handy. 

The combination of yard and stay is found in the present 
hatch and side booms, for discharging or loading by deck winch. 

Jiggers , used aloft as in lifting sails up on the yards. 

Luff upon luff, a luff tackle clapped on to the hauling part of 
another luff. Theoretical power gained 12 times (neglecting 
friction), where the double block of the first luff is fixed. Where 
the double blocks of both luffs move, the power would be 16. 

A tackle is “ two blocks ” when the blocks are jambed to¬ 
gether and fall cannot be hauled through any more. 


BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


143 


To make up a deck tackle. Haul through the fall until the 
blocks are about three feet apart. Place blocks down, points of 
hooks up (hooks should always point the same way) and coil 
the fall around the blocks. Then clove hitch the end of the fall 
around the whole tackle between the blocks. The tackle can 
then be stowed, carted about, and still it can be cast loose and 
fleeted or overhauled , without danger of jambing. All tackles 
should be made up so and hung in the boson’s locker. 

Remember the cat's paw in hooking a tackle onto a rope— 
it is the most secure and handy method. (See page 92.) 

When blocks capsize, be careful in taking out the turns in the 
fall. This applies to hanging tackles particularly, as the lower 
block is always liable to turn over when rounding up the fall. 

When hoisting a heavy weight, have a stopper beforehand , 
that is near the pin or cleat and ready to clap on the hauling part 
so that when the order is given, “ Come up behind! ” and the 
men let go the fall, it can be belayed without loosing anything. 
Where there is not too much weight on the fall, a few hands 
hang on beforehand while the hauling part is taken around the 
pin. When possible the block from which the hauling part leads 
should always be hooked to the weight or object to be moved. 
In hauling the greatest tension comes on the hauling part. In 
slacking away it comes on the standing part of the fall. 

Watch seamen at work—study their way of doing things, 
their way of saying things. Remember “ tackle ” is not pro¬ 
nounced like “ fishing tackle.” Sailors always refer to it as a 
“ TAYKLE ” the “ A ” as in pay. You see it “ takes hold ” 
of things. Only a lubber calls it anything else. 

Hauling upon tackles, “ singing ” a rope, and the pleasant 
“ click ” of the “ PAYTENT ” sheaves, is something to be 
remembered for many a day. The chanties are almost gone, 
but here and there in the newer sailing craft old tunes remain, 
and sailors, even in steam, will call as a rope is swigged up. 
This is a song without words, a sort of plaintive cry. Scandi¬ 
navian seamen are great at this. 

“ I hear them hilly hollying upon the weather brace ” is 
the way Masefield expresses it. 

Before leaving this little dissertation on tackles, let me say a 
word about lt foreign seamen.” The lad who goes to sea with 
6 


144 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


foreign seamen is liable to be fortunate, if he keeps his eyes 
open and don’t start off with narrow-minded prejudices. The 
more foreigners he meets at sea, the more he will know in the 
end. The writer shipped around Cape Horn in a three skysail 
yarder, as a lad, just to top off his schoolship training. There 
were eighteen hands before the mast (ship 2,500 D.W.) and these 
included twelve different nationalities. Much sailor lore was 
passed about during the dog and night watches. 

Ill 

Mechanics on Board Ship 

Officers on board ship are constantly dealing with large forces. 
This is specially so in the seamanship division where the vessel 
itself, through its ground tackle, mooring lines, and propeller, is 
moved about and handled. It is necessary that the officer in 
charge have some definite idea of the forces he is handling. 
Many men, of course, are fully conversant with these forces and 
their practical action and reaction, but the fundamental facts 
may be unknown to them. The following short definitions may 
be of use in clearing up this part of a deep subject. 

Mass is the scientific word for weight. It is the result of 
weighing by a balance scale. Weight by a spring scale may be 
quite different, depending upon the force acting on a body. 
Weight in that case will be different at the poles and at the equa¬ 
tor. 

Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of a body. 

Force is the product of the Mass times the Acceleration. 
Force can be measured by a spring scale. Dynamometers are 
usually built on this principle. 

The forces met with in the handling of cargo are largely 
dynamic , that is they are the forces of motion, of moving loads. 

Force = Mass X Acceleration . 

That is, if the velocity is uniform, and there is no acceleration, 
the force is simply equal to the weight so long as no attempt is 
made to check or increase the velocity. 

In figuring force we use the following units: 


BLOCKS AND TACKLES 


145 


Force (in pounds) = Mass (in pounds) X Acceleration (feet 
per sec. 2 ) 

Impulse or momentum is the product of force and time (foot/ 
sec.) 

Work is the product of force over distance (foot pound). 

In order to do work, certain machines are used. 

The lever . The principle of the lever is so simple and useful 
that it will merely be mentioned here in passing. This principle 
is employed on board ship in the lever and brake beam of the 
hand windlass. The point about which a lever moves is called 
the fulcrum . 

When heavy freight cars are to be moved along a track, as 
often happens when alongside a railroad siding, this use of the 
lever is very handy. Get two pinch bars, place the ends under 
the rear wheels of the car and come down on the handles; the 
leverage here is one inch to four feet. Two men on a bar can 
easily lift under the wheel with a force of four tons (48 times 
200 lbs.) and with this on two wheels the most stubborn car will 
move. The Japanese on the sugar wharves in Honolulu move 
the laden cars about in this manner with surprising ease. It is a 
good wrinkle to employ. 

The wedge . This form of applied power, the wedge being 
one of the simple machines,* is very useful in setting up lashings, 
etc., and in battening hatches. The forces resolve themselves 
according to the angle of the point of the wedge, following the 
principles of the composition and resolution of forces. 

Chain Hoists 

Chain hoists have become an important part of all ship equip¬ 
ment. In the engine room these find constant use in lifting 
heavy machinery parts, in slinging oil barrels and in a number of 
different operations. On deck they are very useful in many 
ways and the ship’s officer should make himself familiar with 
their application. 

Many different designs are on the market. 

Chain hoists are a combination of an endless chain, or chains, 
two or more blocks, and certain gears for the application of 

* The simple machines are the lever , the pulley (block), the wheel and 
axle , the wedge , and the screw. 


146 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


power, usually applied by a secondary hauling chain of endless 
construction transmitting the hand power to the upper block. 



Differential hoist Screw hoist Planetary hoist 


In the differential purchase the hauling part is part of the 
chain carrying the weight, an endless chain taken over two 
sheaves of different diameters or of the same diameter, and led 
around a lower sheave to which is attached the lifting hook. 

The planetary is somewhat more complicated and depends 
upon a combination of gears within the upper block, these gears 
being worked by the hand chain. Very heavy weights can be 
lifted by such hoists. The heaviest special chain hoists are 
designed to lift as high as forty tons. 

For a twenty ton lift 140 lbs. of pull are required on the hand 
chain and for each foot of lift the hand chain must be hauled 
210 feet. Other lifts are in proportion, the twenty ton hoist 
being about the limit on board ship. 


















BLOCKS JAND TACKLES 


147 


The screw chain hoist is of somewhat different construction, 
an endless screw working on a worm is its essential feature. 



A useful application of chain hoists—unshipping a damaged rudder. 

Screw hoists 

Before operating a chain hoist be sure it is in good condition, 
that the blocks are most favorably placed for the lift, that the 
full lift can be made, and be careful to avoid “ gagging ” of 
the chain. 

As in all hoisting operations with heavy weights, take your 
time, know just what you intend to do, then go ahead slowly. 





148 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Composition and Resolution of Forces 

In staying masts, plumbing booms, and in guying booms, an 
understanding of the composition and resolution of forces is of 

4 Tons or 4 Miles per Hour the Utm0St VaIue - M ° St 

+-1- 1 -men know these things in¬ 

stinctively. A straight pull 
is the best pull, etc. But 
the proper position of 
working cargo gear de¬ 
pends upon a clear under¬ 
standing of the parallelo¬ 
gram of forces. 

The composition and 
resolution of forces and 
velocities may be done by 
calculation, involving the 
elements of right and oblique plane triangles. The traverse 
tables may be used for this 
purpose. But the writer be¬ 
lieves that it is simpler and 
quicker, and less open to er¬ 
ror, if the position of masts 
and booms and lifts and guys 
be drawn to scale and the 
forces determined by graphic 
methods, settiug off the force, 



Resultant of two forces or velocities acting 
at right angles to each other 



C = Resultants of A and B, showing 
how to plot a parallelogram of forces 


or weight, to a given scale and measuring the resultant pulls and 
thrusts. There is less fiddling with figures, which sailors 
don’t as a rule care for, and the layout can be 
seen. 

To find the stress on the stays or shrouds, 
we lay off the tension on the topping lift and 
resolve this along the line of the mast and 
shroud. Thus X is the tension on the topping 
lift, set off to any convenient scale, then Y is the 
tension on the shroud, while Z is the thrust 
transferred to the mast. The dotted lines being drawn parallel 
to the lead of the lift and the angle of the shroud. 











BLOCKS ANE TACKLES 


149 


/0 Tc 


The relation between booms, 
and gear, depends upon the ma¬ 
terials at hand for making lifts, 
and where there is a choice in 
improvising booms and masts, 
or shears, the relative strength 
of the spars available and the w 
rope on hand will determine 
how best to utilize your re- 


0/7S 



A Hatch ^ 


\ 


sources. 

The stresses in masts and diagram of stresses on a king post 
booms are buckling stresses. 

The longer the spar the more liable it is to buckle under a 
load. Where a long slight boom must be used it is well to guard 





Mast and boom same length. Thrust or boom always the same for a 
given load. Note increase of pull on topping lift as boom is lowered. 



masts. The pull is double on the flat span. 



































150 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


against this by fishing it at the middle with one or two shorter 
spars. 

This method of strengthening is also employed when a boom 
or yard is sprung. The fishes should be of the best material 
available and the lashings should be hove down with a strong 
heaver and the best wire rope employed. Wedges are driven in 
and these are set up when it is necessary to tighten the lashings, 
or wolding as it is often called. 



The above illustration, taken from Luce’s Seamanship, shows 
the fishing of the main yard of the U. S. Frigate Constitution. 
The yard was lowered and the break hove together with tackles. 
In the section through A, B, 2 shows the six fishes, and 3 the 
chocking pieces in between, m, is the chain wolding. The 
chocks were spaced snugly between the fishes, nine inches apart. 
A spare gaff was used on the after side of the yard to reinforce 
the job. Modern seamen may learn something by studying 
this job done by Captain Stanton and his crew at sea back in 
1880. (The old wooden walls had a habit of long service.) 
When the ship arrived at Hampton roads the steam launch was 
hoisted out with this yard and no sign of weakness could be 
detected. 





















CHAPTER 5 


STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 

I 

Masts, Booms, Rigging—Heavy Hoists 

In the steamer and motor vessel masts have lost their im¬ 
portance as the main stem of motive power—the support of sails, 
but on the other hand masts are more important than ever as 
supports for the booms necessary in the handling of cargo. 

With this change in function masts have undergone a con¬ 
siderable change in position and size. Masts are lower, are 
often mere posts standing without stays, then called King Posts , 
and are now often stepped in pairs abreast of each other, this 
practice having first found favor abroad, particularly in Scandi¬ 
navian vessels. 

The functions of the modern mast in a steam or motor vessel 
may be summed up as follows: 

Support of cargo booms and gear. 

Support of radio antenna. 

Support of signal stays, yards, and trucks. 

Support of masthead and other lights. 

Support of crow’s nest lookout. 

Masts, to a very limited extent, also serve as a support for 
storm staysails and storm trysails, this function becoming less 
important as the size of the vessel increases. Still, the judicious 
use of these sails on many vessels, serves to steady them, and 
in a strong wind sails are often of great use when engines are 
disabled. 

Masts generally are stepped on the keelson, and pass up 
through the mast holes of the various decks between the partners , 
fore and aft members spanning the beams and closing in the 
mast at the deck openings. The masts are secured at the 
partners and mast holes by the mast wedges , and on the weather 
deck, the mast hole is made watertight by the mast coat y a 

151 


152 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


circular canvas apron seized to the mast and fitted down close 
over the wedges. Its lower and often its upper parts are held in 
place by metal hoops set up with screws. The mast coats are 
of No. 1 canvas and are painted. 

The part of the mast below decks is generally known as the 
housing. 

In large steam and motor vessels masts seldom go all the 
way down to the keelson. 

In many modern vessels masts are stepped on the main deck, 


and are held upright by a 
structure that runs up the 
mast and is called a taber¬ 
nacle. 



Steamer masts are stayed 
against cargo loads, these be¬ 
ing the greatest loads ever 
coming upon the masts. 


The stays on a mast are 
the fore and aft stay leading 
from the masthead down for¬ 
ward and taking its name 
from the mast, as fore stay, 
main stay, mizzen stay, etc. 
The shrouds and the back¬ 
stays, port and starboard, 
and named after the masts as 
above. 



But in the ultra modern 
Lower masthead and mast table vessel, the topmast has de¬ 
generated into a mere stump, 
the shrouds lead forward and aft of the masts on either side as 
far as is possible without interference with the working of cargo, 
and the fore and aft stays are not counted upon for support 
in heavy lifts. Back-stays are seldom used. 

Above decks masts have taken on many new departures. 
Lower masts are always built up of steel plating, generally 
circular. About eight or ten'feet from the deck, mast tables 
are fitted. On many vessels these mast tables have grown of 
great size. On some vessels a combination of mast table and 

























STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


153 


tabernacle is used. On other vessels the mast table has become 
a small raised deck about the mast, supported by stout columns 
and braces. These are the winch platforms , lifting the cargo 
winches clear above the deck. Mast tables are then fitted above 
these winch platforms. 



Pole foremast with winch platform 


The mast table serves as a support for the cargo booms, the 
goosenecks upon which the heel of the boom pivots stepping in 
sockets let into the tables. The booms are so arranged that the 
outboard booms, step directly in back of the outboard winches. 
Directly under these booms are the eyebolts for the lead blocks 
carrying the cargo fall down the boom and to the drum of the 
winch. 

At the mast heads we often find a smaller cross tree or spread¬ 
ers of steel, carrying the supporting eye bolts for the upper blocks 
of the boom topping lifts . On some masts these are supported 
by a band about the lower mast head. 

The topmast is generally of wood. A topmast carried forward 
of the lower mast, resting on cheek plates or trestle trees by 
means of a fid and supported by the lower mast cap , is called a 
fidded topmast. Where the lower and topmast pass each other 
is called the doubling of the mast. This is also the approved 
method of fitting one mast above another in sailing craft. 

















154 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


<•> 












Regular cargo gear — 5-ton cargo gear 
























































STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


155 


Fidded masts are easily sent down on deck, where vessels are 
required to pass under bridges, such as the suspension spans 
across the East River, New York. 



Most topmasts nowadays, where topmasts are fitted, rise 
from the center of the lower mast. When the topmast lowered 



Tower mast. Four posts with steel braces. No stays or shrouds 


into the lower mast it is called a telescopic topmast. The top- 
masts are generally of pine. The whole mast, where lower and 
topmast are one, is called a pole mast. 


































156 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The writer when inspecting a “ standardized ship ” was 
astonished at square masts—an upright box 
column. And why not? Still, where time in 
\ building is not so essential, the circular cross 
j section is best for the varying loads and vibra¬ 
tions to be met with in cargo work. 

Formerly when sailormen went aloft they al¬ 
ways clambered up the shrouds by means of 
the ratlines; now these things have been 
largely done away with on steamers and men 
go aloft by means of a ladder on the mast, a 
ladder consisting of bar iron steps. In some 
large liners the crow’s nest lookout enters the 
mast below decks, and climbs up inside of 
the mast to his “ nest.” Further progress up¬ 
ward however is on the outside. Where speeds 
| of twenty knots and over are being made, in 
a stiff weather in the North Atlantic, in winter, 
such an arrangement is essential. The writer 
J remembers a time on the old American Liner 
3 St . Louis when the weather was so bad the 
| crow’s nest lookout could not be relieved dur¬ 
ing the night. When the man was brought 
down at daybreak he was half frozen and wan¬ 
dering in his mind; an inside ladder would 
have been a great thing at that time. 





as the masts. 


Booms 

Next to the masts, the booms are the spars 
of most importance on a steamer. Booms (the 
English call them derricks while we use the 
term “ derrick ” for the combination of a 
mast and boom fitted on a pivot), are generally 
of wood, except for one or two booms carried 
for special lifts. These heavy booms are made 
of steel and are sometimes of lattice construc¬ 
tion though the most common practice is to 
form them of circular plates in the same fashion 
Booms are usually shaped with a slight increase 


















STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


157 


in diameter in the middle where the buckling stresses are 
greatest. 

The boom fittings consist of the gooseneck at the heel and the 
lift, guy and cargo bands at the end. These bands are fitted 
with links for the topping lift block, the starboard and port guy 
pendants , and the cargo block through which is rove the cargo 
fall , generally 5f hemp clad wire rope. 



A study in cargo boom efficiency 


M = Mas ts 
K = King posts 

Large booms are fitted with two or more lift bands when extra 
lift blocks are used. 

Large steamers have three booms, at a hatch the starboard and 
port booms, for plumbing over the side, and the center boom for 
hoisting in and out of the hold. Where the hatches are wide 
enough four booms are sometimes fitted, two of them being 
center booms and cargo can then be worked over both sides 
from the same hatch at the same time. 

The booms and their fittings, and the position of the cargo 
winches must all be carefully considered. Officers working 
cargo should make a careful study of these details as many 
hatch and winch men will work to a disadvantage through lack 

of proper staying of the booms. 

The lead block at the heel of the boom should be triced up, 
beckets being fitted in the bottom of the block and small pendants 




































158 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



led to the boom. It is usual to fit a small eyebolt in the under 
side of the boom some four or five feet up 
from the gooseneck. Tricing up this block 
prevents it dropping when the fall is slacked 
off. Some blocks are fitted with a tricing 
.|o bale through which the fall runs without 
touching. 

Heavy lifts. When heavy lifts are to be 
made with the vessel's own gear, careful 
preparation should be made. The large 
steel boom fitted at the number two hatch 
of an eight to ten thousand (D.W.) steamer 
will usually pick up twenty to fifty tons. 
Such booms are built up of curved steel 
plates in the same manner as the masts, or 
may be of box or lattice construction. 

As the boom will have to be swung from 
g amidships to the side, with the weight sus- 
| pended above the level of the hatch coam- 
g ing, great care should be taken in stepping 
^ the heel of the boom, preferably on deck 
^ in a special step casting securely bolted 
to the deck, and under deck beams shored 
up if the weight is extreme. This step 
should be as close to the mast as possible 
and directly under the suspension of the 
boom at the masthead to take the stress 
off the guy tackles. 

The topping lift, in heavy lifting, is usu¬ 
ally rove off in wire, with threefold steel 
blocks at masthead and boom. See that 
the hauling part, leading to the deck, will 
not interfere with the necessary movement 
of the boom. 

The fall is usually a threefold wire pur- 
^ chase leading to a midship winch in double 

§ gear. Great care should be taken in the 

placing of the lead block close to the step , 
or from the movable block of the fall (next to the weight to be 



















STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


159 


lifted) up through a strong lead block on the boom to the mast¬ 
head just below the topping lift block and thence down the mast 
to the winch. 

The lead of the hauling part of the fall is most important lest 
excessive stress be set up when the boom is swung over the side. 
The end of the fall should be 
securely stopped on the winch 
drum. 

The guy tackles should be 
extra stout and led so that 
the pull on the boom end will 
not be too much up and down. 

See that the angle with the 
boom is as near a right an¬ 
gle as possible at all stages of 
the lift and swing of the boom. 

With extra heavy weights, preventer guys should be rove, 
making four guys, two on a side. Lead the main guys on each 
side to winches, the others to bitts on deck. 




A heavy steel boom—live-fold purchase blocks 







160 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 





Guying of cargo booms 






































STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


161 


Preventer stays. Have preventer stays hooked to the extra 
bands at the mast head and led out to take the pull of the load 
from amidship to over side. Set up with strong turnbuckles and 
watch the standing rigging when setting these up. If the mast 
is well stayed do not take the pull off the shrouds by setting up 
too hard on the preventers. 

If the ship is light, be certain that the cargo fall is long enough 
to drop the load in the lighter with plenty to spare on the winch 
drum. Be careful in winding the wire on the 
winch that it runs on evenly so as not to jamb, 
first round close together riding turns between 
ropes. This is most important with a heavy lift. 

Test all shackles, bolts, links, and blocks. Ex¬ 
amine all gear carefully. If the weight is to be 
picked up in a roadstead with some motion to the 
ship, still greater care should be taken. 

In any event have a licensed engineer at the 
winch to see all well, steam pressure sufficient, 
etc. 

The lashing on the weights should be of new 
wire rope passed through a large lashing eye on 
the lower block and turns about sharp corners 
protected by hard wood wedges and burlap, all 
turns hove taut with a handy billy. It is well to 
put stout wire propping turns about the lashing 
near the block. 

Each weight is different and requires judgment 
in the passing of the lashing. A locomotive is 
simple, a boiler fairly so. A great gun requires 
special care in balancing. If a gun has to be up 
ended to come out the utmost care is needed in 
passing the lashings to prevent it turning over 
and slipping free. 

Avoid the use of chains as much as possible. 

Avoid the use of hooks in lifting extra heavy weights. 

See all blocks working free, bushing smeared with oil and 
graphite. 

Have sluing tackles hooked or lashed to the weight at suitable 
points and led up through the hatch to eye bolts on deck, or in 



A steel wire 
sling protected 
by flexible ar¬ 
mor 











162 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




Rigging for a heavy lift 
































STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


163 


the ’tween deck if need be for swinging the weight clear of the 
hatch coamings. A heavy lift may cause the fall to twist . 

Have three or four heavy manila tackles handy with wire 
straps, or chain slings. If needed they must be got at quickly. 

Have reliable men at the guys, Second Mate and Third Mate. 
Have boatswain in the hold. Engineer at winch. Tend hatch 
yourself (Chief Mate). 



Conventional signals for working heavy derricks or booms 


Leave nothing to chance; be sure the weight will clear hatch¬ 
coaming bulwarks, if up. Be sure the boom will swing out 
clear. Be sure lighter is ready with bed, or that dock will bear 
the weight with proper skids in place. If necessary have out- 
haul tackles , four fold new manila, on dock or lighter, for hauling 
weight out from ship’s side. If weight is going on a lighter it 
may be very important to place it just in the center. 

Take your time. It takes a long while to clear away a wreck, 
far longer than to prevent it. 

All being ready— 

u Heave easy—stand by guys—round in sluing tackles. 

If the boom has been placed properly it will not be necessary 














164 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



to lower it; it is advisable not to do so. Lowering a boom may 
cause step to move. 


A pair of shore shears 

Where several heavy weights are to be lifted, have a suf¬ 
ficiently heavy overhauling weight handy to hook on the extended 











STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


165 


fall so that it can be rounded in and lowered into hold without 
jambing. For heavy lifting gear this will have to be a consider¬ 
able weight. Otherwise rig an overhauling whip. 

Most vessels are now fitted with well-designed masts and 
booms, but often it will be necessary to lift weights in parts of 
the vessel other than the cargo hatches. Boilers have to be 
lifted, in the event of stranding and the buckling of plates, etc. 
Donkey boilers may have to be lifted in and out, etc. In such 
cases the use of shears may be called for. 

Shears consist of two spars lashed near their heads and lifted 
by tackles. Shears are sustained in position by guys, their legs 
are spread and the heels placed in saucers ) and secured by heel 
lashings to suitable deck fittings. Sometimes special shears are 
used, working from the shore. The illustration gives a general 
idea of the use and parts of a pair of shore shears. 

Where other means are not available, the shear legs are 
parbuckled on board. 

One of the favorite old time questions of seamanship was, 
“ You are lying in the stream, with spars along side, get your 
shear legs on board, rig shears, and take in your masts and 
step them.” 

Parbuckles are ropes with ends secured at the rail, or upper 
part of lift, led down under a spar, or barrel, or object that can 
roll, and let up outside of it. The parbuckle then rolls up the 
spar, revolving as it comes in over the side. 

(See next chapter for further details on shears aboard ship.) 

Most heavy weights, however are lifted when alongside of 
wharves, or when the vessel is in dock, and nowadays heavy 
cranes are generally available for these lifts. Floating cranes 
are also provided to serve vessels lying at places not fitted with 
shore cranes. In the building and repair yards, heavy gantry 
cranes, hammerhead cranes, and cantilever cranes are always 
available. 

Many short lifts, as in the engine room, holds, etc., are made 
by means of the chain hoists, blocking up under the weights as 
they come up from their beds. 

Hydraulic and screw jacks are also used to lift weights for 
passing the lashings, and for wedging and securing them against 
rolling in the holds. 


166 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


II 


Cargo Gear 


The development of modern cargo gear is shown in the 
accompanying sketches. It is well to learn the different kinds 
of gear in use and their special applications. 



Flush head 
screw 


Reverse Oval pin 
key 
Shackles 


Eye 

screw 


Heart 


Blocks. Special cargo blocks with wide swallow and sheave 
and with curved lips and lignum vitae shell pieces are now 
generally fitted at the boom end and as lead blocks under the 
goose neck. 

Guys generally consist of wire pendants and twofold manila 
purchases. 

Topping lifts. Usually of four or five inch manila, rove two¬ 
fold, or rove through two blocks on the boom as follows: 

Single block on outrigger at mast head, standing part hooked 
into becket of this block leading down to end block on boom, up 
through block on outrigger, down through second block on boom, 
up through single block under outrigger at mast band, and down 
to heavy cleat at table of mast. Stoppers are fitted at table and 
the topping lift fall is taken to the winch head, through a snatch 
block, boom hoisted, fall stoppered, and then belayed at the 
cleat. The spare end of the fall is then made up snugly and 
hung on the cleat with a half hitch. If the table is large enough 
it is sometimes coiled down on the table. 

Boom rests. Booms when down rest in chocks on gallows 
frames, or on brackets. Long booms sometimes reach to chocks 
at the edge of deck houses. Chocks should be fitted with clamps, 
or lashings and eyes. 










STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


167 


The lifts, guys and falls for each boom and for each hatch 
should be marked on the upper block, or on the winch end of the 
falls, and this end should be on top, ready for running on the 
winch. 

Where tabernacles are fitted the gear for each mast should 
stow in the tabernacle. Otherwise have a separate place in the 



A mast tabernacle, showing lead of cargo falls to base of mast. 
Tandem friction drum winches 


boson’s locker for the gear. Some mates use heavy canvas 
bags for the gear, these being painted with the hatch and boom 
number. 

As gear comes up and down frequently it is well to reduce this 
to a routine. Have a particular man in charge of the gear at 
each hatch, usually a quartermaster, or a seaman. In “ home 
ships ” where men “ stay by ” this works out very well. 

Where runs are short it is often well to let the gear stand. 
If topping lifts are rove through a double block on the boom, 
unshackle, bring in to the mast table, set moderately taut and 
cover with a canvas coat if in the wake of the funnel. Hang 
the ends of the fall so it will not chafe. 

Guys will usually slap on the boom and it is well to unhook 
them, even for short runs. Always unreeve the hemp-clad 




168 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


wire cargo fall, coil it neatly, winch end up, hook down and stow 
below where it will not get wet. 



Rigging for a moderately heavy lift 


Winches should be overhauled by the deck engineer between 
ports. Overhauling winches in port while cargo is to be moved 
is an expensive business. 

King posts. The gear on king posts is smaller than on the 
masts. King posts usually serve smaller hatches, such as the 
hatch over the reserve bunker just forward of the bridge, or 






















STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


169 


the trunk hatches on the bridge deck. One boom is usually 
•fitted, both king posts working together. The post on the work¬ 
ing side supports the “ yard ” boom and the post on the oppo¬ 
site side the “ mast ” boom. The words “ yard ” and “ mast ” 



King posts or pair masts. Smaller rigs are usually referred to as king 
posts, larger rigs as pair masts, when stepped in thwartship line with the 
usual mast positions. 

as explained under “ tackles ” come from sailing ships, where 
the lower yard is cocked up and used to sling cargo out clear of 
the side, while the midship hoist is from a pendant from the 
topmast head. 

Where “ pair masts ” are stepped, the booms work in the 
same way but the gear is of full single mast size. 

Stays. Before going on to the consideration of the lesser 
parts of cargo gear it is well to again say a word about stays. 
Cargo loads are not dead loads. That is the lift is not strictly a 
steady pull but is what engineers call a live load y that is the load 
is a moving load. In consequence we have to consider force 
acting on the cargo gear, and as force is the product of mass 
times acceleration , the faster a load moves the greater the force. 





















170 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A moderate load of a few tons, may, if moved quickly, exert a 
force of four or five times its weight. 

This is a facinating subject and merits careful study. (See 
previous chapter.) 

In considering such loads and stresses, we have to consider 
the staying of masts. Many stays are set up for the main 
purpose of steadying pole masts against vibration. But the 
main shrouds are of course designed for the staying of cargo 
loads. 

Where stays have to be “ let up ” to work booms, be sure 
that preventers are used if needed, especially in a seaway 
loading from and to lighters. 


Ill 

Slings, Nets, Hooks 

A great deal of confusion exists in regard to the best form of 

slings, cargo nets, hooks, etc., for use on board ship. No 

matter what the hoisting gear may be, whether aboard ship, or 

ashore, something must be used to get hold of and lift the cargo. 

For general cargo manila rope slings 

are most often used, and great care 

should be taken of them. Too many 

mates leave this important item go 

without much consideration and a large 

number of slings find their way into the 

junk boats at every port. 

A draft of case goods Manila slings for ordinary lifts of 
Note correct tiering of 0 J 

case and position of ma- case g° ods and bales are the most com “ 

nila sling monly used. 

Manila slings. Usually two and a 
half, three and four inch rope. Four to six fathoms to a sling. 
Short splice. 

Many special sizes are made, depending upon the trade. 

Wire slings. Wire slings are made for many uses. For the 
handling of heavy cases, for loading and unloading ballast. 
There is no set size or length. Slings are spliced as needed. 

Wire ballast unloaders are usually made with an eye and 
thimble at each end, a small and large link and a small link and 
hook (to pass through large link) are fitted. 




























STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


171 


Chain slings . Chain slings are generally open with large 
link and hook. These are used for handling rails, pipe, pigs of 
ballast, etc. 

Barrel slings. These are generally of chain with special cant 
hooks. 

Chain slings should be of the best grade, and should not be 
used too long. Re-annealing is advisable after a year of use, 



Bale sling Butt sling 

if the vessel is part of an outfit that does such things in a scien¬ 
tific way. Cargo gear is so expensive and so vital a factor that 
more attention should be given to seemingly small details. 
All metal gear should be stamped with the ship’s name and 
date of issue. 

Cheap chain slings, with faulty welds, or old chains, crystallized 
from years of racking, and painted over, have been the cause of 
many accidents, such gear giving way at some critical moment. 

Chain cargo nets are made for general ship’s use. 

The regular sizes and dimensions are: chain—1/4, 

5/16 and 3/8 inch; mesh—7 inches square; com¬ 
plete net, 8x8, 9x9 or 10 x lOfeet square. 

Net slings . Cargo nets are of great use and are 
the most adaptable form of lifting device. Almost any¬ 
thing within reason can be taken out in nets. The 
nets are usually twelve feet square, with outer or 
bolt rope 31 / 2 " and the crossings of 2rope, ten 
inches apart. The mesh is made by tucking, and we i g ht 
where four-stranded rope is used this works very 
well. In three-stranded rope tuck two and one, getting the one 
strand a different tuck each time. The ends of the mesh are 
tucked into the bolt rope, two full tucks one way, and one an- 




















172 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


other way, whipping the strands with sail twine doubled and 
waxed. 

The lifting bridles are spliced into the bolt rope between the 
corners, passing through the large thimbles at the corners. The 
hooking bridles are spliced into the lifting bridles. 

Nets used for the handling of flour, grain, coffee, and other 
cargo packed in bags have been made as follows: Twelve by 
twelve bolt rope, mesh 21 thread hemp spaced on ten-inch 


centers. This net was covered on 
both sides with No. 4 coal-bag 
canvas, stitched to the bolt rope of 
the net, a four-inch tabling turning 
under. Give the canvas enough 
slack so the rope mesh will take 
the weight of the draft of cargo. 
This is a very satisfactory net for 
leaking grain bags. 



Safety hook 


Many officers have their own 


ideas as to how nets should be made; those described here have 
been used by the writer and have proven satisfactory. 

Cargo nets should be examined between ports. Inspect the 
bridles and renew when necessary. These will wear out about 
twice as fast as the nets. 

Use for old nets. Old nets that have done a good turn of 
lifting should be repared and set aside, two at a hatch, seized 
together, making a two fathom by four fathoms net, or larger if 
a big ship, cut off the bridles and splice in stout guy ropes at 
the corners and upper side (old boat falls are handy for this). 
We then have nets for use under the gangways between the 
wake of the hatches and the wharf or lighters. Where the vessel 
is light, and a long ladder is used in place of the gangway, it is 
well to stretch a length of this net under the ladder. The writer 
remembers a certain boatswain (one of the best steamboat 
borons) who came aboard one night “lit up.” He lost his 
footing, dropping off the ladder down between the ship and the 
wharf, striking a large spar fender. That bo’son never went to 
sea again. He lost his leg. 

Coal bags. Where coal is handled in bags special roping and 
No. 4 canvas is used. Bags run to about five hundred pounds 
capacity. 






STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


173 


In Coronel, Chili, coal is lifted onboard by means of square 
canvas slings, fitted with eyes and lifting bridles. A great 
deal of coal is lost overboard between the ship and the lighters 
—the more the merrier. It is hard bottom there and after a 



A sling of coffee coming on board at Corinto, Nicaragua. 

Note use of nets 

vessel leaves the local pirates come out with their dredges and 
pick up the coal spilled. At least five per cent, of the coal is 
dropped in hoisting; this is specially so in lively weather. Ves¬ 
sels anchor and then moor their sterns to a buoy. Old Ameri- 
can-Hawaiian Line officers recall the place with no regret. 






174 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Nitrate slings. Eight by eight 
feet square roped around with 
2" manila, cross roped on un¬ 
der side with 3 V 2 " manila fitted 
with hooking eyes, cross roping 
in two parts corner to corner and 
spaced a foot apart. 

Canvas slings . Forty-two 
inch canvas No. 1, roped with 
3" manila. Short and long 
hooking bridles. A very good 
rig for hoisting flour, or other 
bagged stuff requiring careful 
handling. 

Hooks. The various types of cargo hooks are shown in the 
illustrations. 



Western 
cargo hook 


Seattle cargo 
hook 




hook 


eye hook 


swivel 

hook 


Swivel Cargo 

cargo hook hook with 
(. Liverpool) safety 

{hook) tongue 


IV 

Tables 

In selecting the gear for a heavy lift it is well to have in mind 
the important fact that no chain is stronger than the weakest 
link. Examine everything, take your time , be sure before you 
go ahead. The Chief Mate going to a port where a heavy lift 
will have to be made with the vessel’s own gear will usually have 
plenty of time to get together his layout. 

The strength of fittings can be figured as follows, if the tables 
are not sufficiently comprehensive. 












STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


175 


Let d equal the diameter of metal (steel) in inches. The 
figures should be taken in whole numbers and decimal parts of 
an inch. 


Safe working load 

it 

u 

<< 

u 


of hook 
ring bolt 
eye bolt 
straight shackle 
bow shackle 

Chain Table 


equals d 2 /2 tons 

“ 2d 2 “ 

“ 5 d 2 “ 

“ 3d 2 “ 

“ 2 y 2 d 2 “ 



Dist. From 

Weight per 
Foot in Lb. 

Size of 

Center of 
One Link to 

Chain 

Center of 

Approxi¬ 


Next 

mately 

i 

25 

3 

4 

32 

4 

TS 

M 

1 

3 

ff 

H 

T6 

1 T2 

2 

2 

1 ff 

2f 

9 

16 

Iff 

3A 

5 

8 

Iff 


xi 

Iff 

5 

3 

4 

Iff 

6x5 

13. 

16 

7 

8 

2fe 

2^ 

sf 

15 

T6 

2& 

9 

1 

2 \ 

10f 

lf& 

2f 

12 

If 

2 f 

13 f 

Iff 

3f(5 

13 t 7 o 

If 

3f 

16 

1A 

3f 

16f 

H 

3^ 

m 

1* 

3 ff 

19 t V 

If 

3 f 

23 


4 

25 


Outside 

Width 


iff 

2 

2^ 
2 f 
2* 
2 f 

2ft 

3ff 

3| 

3^ 

3ft 

4 

4& 

4f 

4fe 

4f 

51 

5 


Crane Chain 


Proof Test 
Lb. 


Average 
i Breaking 
! Strain Lb. 


1,680 

2,520 

3,640 

5,040 

6,720 

8,400 

10,360 

12,600 

15,120 

17,640 

20,440 

23.520 

26,880 
30,240 

34,160 
38,080 
42,000 
45,920 

50,680 

54,880 

60,480 

65.520 


3,360 

5,040 

7,280 

10,080 

13,440 

16,800 

20,720 

25,200 

30,240 

35,280 

40,880 

47,040 

53,760 

60,480 

68,320 

76,160 

84,000 

91,840 

101,360 

109,760 

120,960 

131,140 


Ordinary 
Safe Load 
General 
Use Lb. 


1,120 

1,680 

2,427 

3,360 

4,480 

5,600 

6,907 

8,400 

10,080 

11,760 

13,627 

15,680 

17,920 

20,160 

22,773 

25,387 

28,000 

30,613 

33,787 

36,587 

40,320 

43,180 


—Bradlee & Co., Philadelphia 




7 



























176 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Strength of Open Cargo Hooks 

Drop Forged Steel 


Diameter of Eye 

Extreme Dimensions 

Approximate 
Load Required 

Estimated 

Inside, 




to Straighten 

Weight Each, 

Outside, 

Length, 

Width, 

Out Net Tons 

Lbs. 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

2,000 Lbs. 


3 

4 

U 

4f 

21 

1.9 

1 

2 

7 

8 

If 

41 

31 

2.3 

3 

4 

1 

2 

5f 

31 

3 

1 

If 

2f 

61 

31 

5.7 

11 

u 

21 

6! 

4* 

7 

2 

If 

2f 

7f 

41 

8.5 

31 

u 

3 

81 

5f 

10 

41 

it 

31 

91 

6f 

13 

6 

if 

31 

101 

61 

17 

81 

2 

4 

HI 

71 

19 

lOf 

2 f | 

4f 

121 

81 

26 

15 

2f 

51 

141 

91 

32 

191 

3* 

61 

161 

101 

35 

311 

31 

7 

19 

13 

48 

47 

4 

81 

22 

14f 

80 

65 


Size and Strength of Shackles 


Size Diam. 
of Link 

Length 

Inside 

Width Between 
Eyes 

Diameter of 

Pin 

Gov’t Test. 
Maximum Strength 
in Pounds 

16 

in. 

1 

in. 

I 

in. 

1 

4 

in. 

3,080 

1 

a 

lyV 

<< 

1 

2 

t( 

A 

<i 

5,510 

5 

16 

a 

H 

tt 

A 

u 

3 

$ 

a 

8,320 

3 

8 

a 

if 

tt 

ft 

u 


a 

10,890 

7 

16 

u 

if 

tt 

Ai 

16 

<( 

1 

a 

15,200 

1 

tt 

il 

<( 

3 

4 

<( 

9 

16 

a 

18,390 

TS 

a 

2 

tt 

7 

8 

u 

S 

8 

a 

24,800 

f 

a 

2 f 

tt 

1* 

a 

3 

4 

a 

33,400 

3. 

4 

1 

it 

a 

2f 

3f 

a 

a 

• lA 

If 

<( 

(( 

7 

8 

1 

“ 

tc 

43,400 

55,200 

1 

tt 

3f 

ti 

If 

u 

11 

tt 

74,900 

11 

a 

41 

■* 8 

if 

11 

(( 

If 

a 

90,200 

1 1 

a 

5 

(« 

2 

<( 

If 

a 

92,040 

If 

a 

51 

(( 

21 

it 

11 

tt 

94,100 

1 1 

a 

51 

(« 

21 

tc 

If 

tt 

103,800 

If 

If 

a 

a 

61 

7 

(( 

(( 

21 

2f 

ct 

tt 

If 

2 

tt 

tt 

155,542 

172,400 

2 

a 

8 

ft 

31 

tt 

21 

tt 

235,620 


Recommended safe working load y 3 of maximum strength 

































STEAMER RIGGING—CARGO GEAR 


177 


Table of Drop Forged Turnbuckles 


Size Turn- 
buckle and 
Outside 
Diameter 
of Thread 
in Inches 

Approx imate 
Breaking 
Strength in 
Pounds 

Recom¬ 
mended 
Working 
Load in 
Pounds 

Amount of 
Take-up 
Length in 
the Clear 
Between 
Heads in 
Inches 

Length of 
Buckle Out¬ 
side in 
Inches 

Length Pull 
to Pull when 
Extended 
in Inches 

Approxi¬ 

mate 

Weight Each 
in Pounds 

1 

4 

1,350 

270 

4 

4f 

12 

.40 

16 

2,250 

450 

4f 

51 

131 

.60 

8 

3,350 

670 

41 

5f 

14 

.90 


4,650 

930 

5 

61 

161 

1.31 

h 

6,250 

1,250 

6 

n 

18f 

1.87 

9 

16 

8,100 

1,620 

7f 

9 

23! 

3.00 

5 

8 

10,000 

2,000 

81 

101 

241 

3.69 

3 

4 

15,000 

3,000 

n 

Hf 

271 

5.81 

1 

21,000 

4,200 

10 

12f 

301 

8.81 

1 

27,500 

5,500 

ii 

14 

33 

12.56 

If 

34,500 

6,900 

12 

151 

39 

17.00 

H 

44,500 

8,900 

13 

16f 

40 

25.00 

If 

52,500 

10,500 

14 

18 

50 

36.00 

1| 

64,500 

12,900 

15 

m 

51 

40.00 

If 

75,500 

15,100 

16 

21 

511 

48.00 

If 

8,7000 

17,400 

18 

23 

551 

52.00 

1 8 

102,500 

20,500 

18 

23 

66 

89.00 

2 

115,000 

23,000 

24 

31 

74 

98.00 

2f 

132,500 

26,500 

24 

31 



2f 

151,000 

30,200 

24 

32 




V 

Mechanical Loading and Discharging 

Special rigs are now employed in the loading of coal and ore, 
clamshell buckets, self-trimming holds, chutes, pipes, etc. 
Grain is shot into the holds and sucked out. 

Large side ports are used in certain trades, and on such craft 
the endless conveyor finds favor. Conveyor loading is growing 
in favor, taking sugar, flour, etc., to the deck and then sending it 
anywhere in the holds and ’tween decks by means of chutes. 
It would hardly be within the province of a work on seamanship 
to do more than mention these devices. They are of growing 
importance and are playing a larger and larger part in cutting 
down what the heartless statisticians tabulate as “ turn around ” 
and quick dispatch in and out of port means money. 















178 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Loading flour at Puget Sound by belt conveyor 
(See Chap. 9—on Stowage) 




















CHAPTER 6 


SAILING SHIP RIGGING—SAILS—CANVAS WORK 

I 

Masts and Spars 

The masts usually consist of the following sections: Lower 
mast, topmast, topgallant mast, and royal mast, which includes 
at its upper end the sky sail mast. 

The masts of a square rigger are shown in the various illus¬ 
trations, giving their locations and names. 



The masts of a fore and after consist of a long lower mast, 
and a topmast , except in the case of a baldheaded schooner 
when no topmast is fitted. 

When lower masts are made of steel (square rigged) the lower 
and topmast are often in one piece, making a change in the lower 
top fitting and getting rid of much top hamper. But the Added 
topmast has much to commend it and still finds favor. 

The other spars on a square rigger are the yards , names and 
locations given in illustrations, also the names and fittings of a 
yard. 

Men go out on a yard by means of the foot ropes, held up by 
stirrups. The footrope extending from inside of the sheave 

179 





180 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


hole to the yard arm is called the flemish horse. When hauling 
out on a weather or lee earing, a sailor must go out on the 
famous steed, straddle the yard and keep one arm around the lift. 



Lower mast head details—square rig 


Gaffs and booms spread fore and aft sails, at head and foot, 
as shown. 

A club, is fitted to the foot of inner fore staysails* in many 
* The club on the foot of fore staysail is sometimes called the jumbo club. 
















































SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


181 


schooners. The club swings freely from side to side, as the 
foot of the sail is short, and this rig makes for ease in tacking. 





I Cross Trees ' 

, Futtock Shrouds- 

m . 

Shrouds 3 3 M"Wire-’ 


Topsail Halliard,? 
(TDoubte Block) \ 


Backsfa' 

(WWirey 


Topmast Shrouds 
(2/2" Wire) 


Topmast Staysail 
Halliard Block '' 


'"■Truck 


Fore Topsail 
Staysail 
1Single 2'WWire) 


Topmast Stays 1 
(2'M’Wire) 

■Cap 



Peak Halliard 
Blocks •<' 

03"Double) ' 

Preventer Stay(3f"Wir 
Fore stay (4"Wire Double,f 

Trestle Trees.^ 

Topping Lift 
Blocks 
10"Double 


Throat Halliard 
— Block-—-’' 

(l3"Triple) . ^ 
Staysail L ift CSfbdj ' . ■ 

, Jib Lift (Port)'' , 

''Futtock Band Shroudsy 
3 WWire 

Fore Staysail Halliard. . 

(9"Double Block) 

IZ"Double Swivel Block,Fish Tackle 

Fore mast details of a schooner 


\Preventer 

Stay 

(PIS Wire) 


Fore Stay 
4"Wire 
(Double) 


A club is also used in yachts to set the club topsail } the club 
extending beyond the reach of the gaff. 










































182 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The head spars and stays of a schooner 












SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


183 





















































184 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The bowsprit and the jibboom are shown in the illustrations. 
The flying jibboom is seldom fitted nowadays. 

When speaking of a mast, a sailor always pronounces it like 
“ mist,” Fore “mist,” For e'topmist stays'le. Sail also being 
shortened to sil! 

The sailor names for masts and yards are as follows: 

Fore, main, and mizzen, pronounced as spelled, adding mist. 

Topmasts are “ topmists.” 

Topgallant is “ Tgallant mist” the sail is a “ Tgansill” 

Royal mast is Royal mist . The sails are simply “ Royals” 

Skysail is “ Skysill” The mast is a “ Skysill mist” 

The lower yard on the mizzen is the crossjack yard, called 
the u crojik ” yard by sailormen. The sail spread on it is simply 
the “ crojik.” 

The braces on the mizzen yards lead forward , and are all 
referred to as “ crojik braces” If we are to swing the after 
yards (main and mizzen) as in tacking, we get the order, 
“ Weather main, lee crojik braces! ” just before the order is 
given to “ Main tops’le haul!” 

A real Yankee coaster always refers to a schooner, as a 
skunner , pronouncing the name quickly, with the accent on the 
first syllable. 

Masting with Own Resources 

Hull lying in stream. 

Shear legs in water alongside legs aft, near quarter. 

Sling skids up and down the side for the purpose of keeping 
the shear legs clear. Secure three or four small spars in a 
slanting direction from the bulwark to ease the shears down on 
deck. The shears being brought alongside, with their small 
ends aft, are taken on board by parbuckle. 

Place the heads or small ends either on the taffrail, the break 
of the poop, or a spar placed in a most convenient spot, the more 
elevated the better. Square the heels exactly one with the 
other, so that when they come to be raised the legs may be 
found of equal height. Cross their heads, placing the shear 
head of the side on which the mast is coming in uppermost, 
and put on the head-lashing of new well-stretched rope , the 
lashing being at equal distances from the heels of both. After 


SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


185 


the lashing is on, the heels of the shears are drawn asunder , 
carrying one over to each gangway and placing it on a solid piece 
of oak or shoe. Lash them to the eye-bolts in the shoes; nail 
cleats on the heel of the shears to prevent the lashing slipping 
down. Clap stout tackles on the heels, two on each, one leading 
forward, the other aft; set taut the after ones and belay them. 
Lash a three or four-fold block, as the upper one of the main 
purchase, over the first lashing (so that it will hang plumb under 
the cross), with canvas underneath to prevent chafing, passing 
the lashing round each shear head alternately; also, sufficiently 
long to secure the free action of the block. Lash the small 
purchase block or truss block on the after horn of the shears, 
sufficiently high for the falls to play clear of each other, and a girt- 
line block above all. Middle a couple of hawsers and clove- 



A parbuckle 

a, a, counter parbuckle for easing spar inboard 


hitch them over the shear heads—having two ends leading 
forward and two abaft, and stout luffs clapped on them. These 
should be sufficiently strong to secure the shears while lifting 
the masts. The lower purchase block is lashed forward to a 
toggle secured to lower deck beams in one of the foreward 
hatches, or in bowsprit hole. The fall is rove—the hauling 
parts leading through the middle sheave-hole—and led away 























186 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


to the capstan. The shears are raised by heaving upon it, and 
preventing the heels from slipping forward by means of the heel 
tackles previously mentioned. When the shears 
are up, the heels confined to their shoes, they 
can then be transported along the deck by 
means of the heel tackles and guys to the sit¬ 
uation required, taking care to make them rest 
upon a beam, and to have the deck properly 
shored up below. Finally, give the shears the 
necessary rake by means of the guys, and set 
taut all the guys and heel tackles. 

The mizzen mast is taken on board first, then 
main, fore, and bowsprit. 

When getting in bowsprit shear heads are 
supported over the bow by a heavy purchase from the fore 
masthead. 

Measure height of lower main purchase block when “ two 
blocks ” to rail. Place garland on 
mast at a distance less than this from 
the heel. 

To take in mast. Lower block 
lashed to garland, take main pur¬ 
chase to capstan. See all guys and 
lashings secure. Heave round cap¬ 
stan. When masthead comes over 
the rail put on trestle trees, top and 
cap. Secure gantlines to the mast¬ 
head and the truss tackle is made 
fast to band below the top. 

Heave away till mast rises near 
top of rail. Secure a tackle for eas¬ 
ing it inboard. 

Heave over rail, ease inboard and 
by means of truss tackle and gant¬ 
lines point mast fair for stepping. 

Wipe tenon dry. White- lead it, also 
Lower main purchase and step mizzen mast. The mast is then 
wedged . Shrouds and stay are got up and shears are worked 
forward to take in main mast. 


Top Rim\ 




£_ /Cross Trees 

Lubbers 



^ Hole) 


- 

Heel 
of Top 
Mast 

Trestle/’ 

Trees< 

Sv 

Lower 

Mast 

Head 

-T— 

[H & 




i »i 


’=^'Chock^ly \ 


sr Piaeon' 

Crc 

/ Holt. 

iss Trees 


Top platform details 


step (tar will do as well). 



A garland 



















































































SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


187 


To get shears forward proceed as follows: 

Haul the shears upright by the tackle on the guys, and bowse 
the heels forward, taking care to have a tackle on the after part 



Stepping a mizzen mast by shear legs 
This serves to illustrate the method of using shears and of staying them. 
The same rig may be employed, with necessary changes, wherever weights 
have to be lifted without regular masts and booms. 

A and B—shear legs, rigged for taking in mast on port side. C—shear 
head lashing. D—shoes for heel of shear legs. Starboard shear leg is 
shown lashed to spar outside of port in bullwark. E—Lead block for mam 
purchase. F—Heel tackles, leading fore and aft, for shifting the shear legs 
along the deck. G—Belly guys for steadying the shear legs against heavy 
stresses. H—Head guys for staying the shear legs. These are the prin¬ 
cipal guys—the others may be dispensed with except for the heaviest lifts. 
I—Topping Lift or truss tackle. J—Mast guys. K-Main purchase. 

When shifting shear legs wet the deck under the shoes. 

of the heels to ease away with. Next slack away the after guys, 
and haul on the fore ones at the same time. 














188 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


In taking out a mast, the shears are hoisted up singly and 
lashed aloft, and generally remain up till the new mast is taken in. 
To take in the bowsprit proceed as follows: 

Transport shears as far forward as possi¬ 
ble, or as the bows will permit. Bend on 
the gantlines to the small purchase block at 
the shear heads to light it up, unlash it and 
lash it again to the forward fork or horn of 
the shears, pass a strap round the fore-mast¬ 
head, to which hook a large tackle, carry it 
well aft, and haul it taut for the purpose 
of staying the mast. Lash a couple of 
large single blocks to the foremast¬ 
head, middle a hawser and clove-hitch 
it over the shear-head, reeve the ends 
through the blocks at the mast¬ 
head, down on deck, carry them 
well aft, and take a turn. Hook 
the after heel tackles forward 
and take the after guys aft. Pass 
a bulwark lashing round each 
heel. Rake the shears over the 
bows sufficiently for the 
main purchase to hang 
directly over the stem, 
and make all fast. 

The shears being 
dropped over the stem 
and secured, the large 
tackle is made fast to the 
bowsprit outside the dis¬ 
tance from the heel to the 
knight-heads. The truss 
tackle (or topping lift) is fastened to a strop through the cap, and 
two guys are hitched to bolts in the cap, the former to cant the 
heel, and the two guys to assist in steadying the bowsprit when 
pointing the heel through the knight-heads. Now bring the fall 
to the capstan and heave round, taking in the slack and top¬ 
ping on the cap purchase when necessary. When high enough 



Sending up fore stay {fitted with lashing 
eyes ) 























SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


189 


point the heel, having the partners well greased, when by eas¬ 
ing away the main and topping on the cap purchase, working the 
guys at the same time, the bowsprit will come down in its place. 

If the ship has a top-gallant forecastle the bowsprit cannot be 
taken in with the shears without the assistance of a small derrick 
further forward, on account of the break of the forecastle, it not 
being prudent to step shears on the top of it. 

Having topped the bowsprit well up by means of the truss 
tackle, and finding that you cannot get the shears sufficiently 
sloped to point the heel, rig a jibboom or any other spar over the 
forecastle, lash the heel, and have a tackle on the outer end to 
haul the heel of the bowsprit out and point it fair for stepping. 

When masts are stepped without shipping the tops and caps, 
these must be got up by special rigs. Gantline blocks are 
lashed at the square of the masthead and the trestle trees, tops 
and cap are hoisted up and eased over. 

Topmasts are sent up through the trestle trees and cap by the 
mast rope rove through the heel sheave. After lower masts are 
stayed the remainder of the rigging is simple. Masts and yards 
go up by virtue of the lower mast purchases. 

Many modern ships have lower and topmasts in one piece 
of steel. Such masts can only be secured at fitting out yards. 
They are not floated alongside and stepped by your own re¬ 
sources. Wooden lower masts are generally built up, made of 
four sections, held together by steel hoops. 

Lower yards and lower topsail yards are often of steel. 

Spare spars and sails. All sailing vessels are to have, at 
least, one complete suit of sails, and a second suit for the fore¬ 
mast, consisting of course, topsails, topgallant sails, and two 
spare jibs or foresails; they are also to carry a spare topmast 
and a spare topsail yard. (A.B.S. Rules.) 

II 

Rigging 

Rigging is conveniently divided into standing rigging and 
running rigging. 

Standing Rigging 

Lower rigging or shrouds, support the lower mast at each side 
and extending aft. The forward legs of the shrouds are also 


190 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


/Lower Pendant 



Setting up rigging, old style 
















SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


191 


called swifters. When lower yards are braced sharp up , they 
lie close against the swifters. 

Ratlines, are cloved hitched across the shrouds and form the 
ladder for climbing aloft. Every fifth ratline extends to the 
swifter and after shrouds and is called a catch ratline. 

Topmast shrouds , extend from topmast head to the rim of 
the top. The top is the platform about the lower masthead. 

Topgallant shrouds, royal shrouds, are similar but much 
lighter. 

Topmasts, and masts above, are supported aft by backstays , 
leading down to the channels on either side. 



The proper way to secure lanyards. Knots are inside. Forward hole 
to starboard, after hole to port. The holes for the knots are finished square. 
Dead eyes are of lignum vitae. Lanyard ends are hitched , as shown , and 
seized in place. 

All masts are supported forward by stays , the stay taking its 
name from the mast it supports. 

Bowsprit shrouds lead aft from the bowsprit on either side, 
supporting it from side thrusts. 

Bobstays lead down from the bowsprit end to the cutwater, 
and support it from lifting. They are usually made of chain and 
set up with hearts and lanyards to add some give to the rigging. 

Jib guys lead out on either side from the jibboom. 



















192 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Jib martingale and back ropes lead down to the martingale, 
or dolphin striker , and support the jibboom from lifting. 

The gammoning is the ring that secures the bowsprit to its 
bed on the top of the stem. 

In old ships this was a lashing passing over the bowsprit and 
through the gammoning hole in the head of the stem. When 
rope or chain is used for a gammoning it is crossed, that is, the 
forward turn over the bowsprit is the after turn through the 
gammoning hole. Old seamen sometimes refer to a crossed 
lashing as a “ gammon lashing.” 



The proper way to “ rattle down ” 


Standing rigging is set up, that is, it is hauled tight, or taut , 
as seamen call it. In setting up modern rigging use is made of 
screws and turnbuckles. In older rigs dead eyes and lanyards 
were used, or hearts and lanyards. The latter are still used to a 
great extent on the bowsprit shrouds. In wooden vessels, the 
dead eye and lanyard is preferred because of its give. In steel 
vessels screws and turnbuckles are most often found. Many 
ships have been dismasted because the standing rigging was 
not set up properly. Too much tension is almost as bad as too 
little. When rigging works loose in a heavy gale and it cannot 
be set up, luff tackles are hooked to the shrouds on opposite sides 









SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


193 


on 


and they are swiftered in. this puts a temporary tension 
them and steadies the masts. This principle 
can be used in many ways where masts work 
loose in heavy weather. 

The setting up of rigging cannot be learned 
from a book. Watch this work when it is be; 
ing done, and when you have to do it your¬ 
self you will know something about it. Masts 
are generally stayed by the fore and aft stay 
and the first pair of shrouds. The shrouds 
usually go over the masthead in pairs, the 
legs of each pair setting up on the same side. 

But a great deal of irregularity has crept into 
this matter with steel construction and where 
masts are longer, lower and topmast in one 
piece and of steel, shrouds for lower rigging 
may set up from eyebolts on the mast to the 
channel plates, being fitted singly. Each 
ship is a study in itself. Steamship rigging 
is mainly set in this fashion. 

The Standing Rigging of Yards 

Stationary yards, like the lower yards, 
lower topsail yards, and lower topgallant 
yards are supported in the slings or center 
of the yard, by a sling and truss. Or by a 
crane in the case of lower topsail yards. 

Some lower topsail yards are supported by 
a standard coming up from the trestle trees, 
or the cap. 

Yards that ride up and down the mast are 
held in contact by a parrel . This may simply 
be a set of wooden jaws, or saddle, held in 
by a metal hoop covered with leather. Or, in 
the case of a topsail yard, it may be an elab¬ 
orate tub of steel, lined with leather. 

The yard arms are supported, when the 
yard is down, in the case of a hoisting yard, and at all times 























194 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


in the case of a lower yard, by standing ropes called lifts. 
Lifts are usually wire pendants fitted with purchases on their 
hauling parts. The handling of the lifts is an important part 
of the manipulation of the courses. 



Standing rigging of a ship 


1 Fore royal stay 

2 Flying jib stay 

3 Fore topgallant stay 

4 Outer jib stay 

5 Inner jib stay 

6 Fore topmast stay 

7 Fore stay 

8 Fore royal backstay 

9 Fore topgallant backstay 

10 Fore topmast backstays 

11 Topgallant, topmast and fore 

shrouds 

12 Main royal stay 

13 Main topgallant stay 

14 Main topmast stay 

15 Main stays 

16 Main royal backstay 

17 Main topgallant backstay 
(18 missing on drawing ) 

19 Main topmast backstays 


20 Topgallant, topmast and main 

shrouds 

21 Mizzen royal stay 

22 Mizzen topgallant stay 

23 Mizzen topmast stay 

24 Mizzen stay 

25 Mizzen royal backstay 

26 Mizzen topgallant backstay 

27 Mizzen topmast backstays 

28 Topgallant, topmast and mizzen 

shrouds 

29 Jibboom guys 

30 Martingale stays 

31 Martingale stays 

32 Martingale stays 

33 Back ropes 

34 Back ropes 

35 Bobstay 

36 Martingale, or dolphin striker 







SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


195 


Footropes are fitted along all yards, hanging from stirrups 
from the after side. The footrope from the yard arm to inside 
of the sheave hole is called the flemish horse and is only found 
on lower yards and on upper topsail yards. 



Fore yard and fore topsail yard. School ship Newport. This vessel carries 
a single topsail. Note the harbor furl. 


Booms are fitted with topping lifts , similar in purpose to the 
lifts on a crossed yard. The lee lift is always allowed to hang 
slack and the weather lift is hauled taut. 

The bowsprit is also fitted with footropes. 

Running Rigging 

Running rigging may best be considered as follows: 

The rigging of spars — halyards. Yards, except the lower, 
lower topsail and lower topgallant, are hoisted up and lowered 
by means of halyards. Halyards always lead to the deck and 
are found as follows: 
















196 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



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SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


197 


Fore upper topsail halyard 

port 

side. 

Main “ “ « 

st’bM 

<< 

Mizzen “ “ “ 

port 

u 

Fore topgallant halyards 

st’bM 

side. 

Main “ “ 

port 

u 

Mizzen “ “ 

st’b’d 

u 

Fore royal “ 

port 

side. 

Main “ “ 

st’b’d 

u 

Mizzen “ “ 

port 

u 

Fore skysail “ 

st’b’d 

side. 

Main “ “ 

port 

u 

Mizzen “ u 

st’bM 

ii 

This system of alternating the side to 

which 

similar halyards 


lead is followed through when the masts are increased. 



A, A, Starboard mizzen topmast backstays 

B, Starboard spreader 

C, Shoe of spanker gaff 

D, Tack of spanker topsail 

E, Spanker peak halyard blocks 

F, Spanker throat halyard blocks 

The jib halyards, foretopmast staysail, and flying jib also 
alternate. The same holds good of the staysails on other masts. 











198 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A fore and aft sail hoisting to a gaff is carried up the mast by 
means of two sets of halyards. 

The throat halyards , lift the spar next to the mast. 

The peak halyards , usually rove with two or more blocks on 
the gaff, hoist up the outer end, or peak, of the gaff. 

Throat halyards usually belay on the port side of the mast and 
peak halyards on the starboard side. 



A, Spanker sheet 

B, Boom guy 

C, Boom guy 

D, Boom crotch 

E, Wythe, the aftermost hand on the boom 

F, Boom tackle, hooked to becket at forward end of boom. This 

is only hauled out when the boom is trimmed for a wind 
nearly aft. 

H, Rubber buffers at deck connection for spanker sheet traveller. 

Deck cleat just forward of this. 

I, Sounding machine 

J, End of spanker sheet, faked down clear for running 


Braces , as the term implies, are to steady the yards, brace 
them in and trim or square them, as the case may be. The 










SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


199 


braces all lead aft, except upon the mizzen where they neces¬ 
sarily lead forward. This arrangement is not very good and in 
four-masted vessels gives added 
reason for fitting the jigger mast 
fore and aft. 

Braces on the lower yards 
consist of wire pendants with 
purchases, or whips. Braces in 
large ships are now entirely of 
wire and small hand winches 
are fitted on the bulwarks for 
heaving them taut in heavy 
weather. Strong new manila, 
however, is preferred by most seamen because of its greater 
ease in handling and slacking. 

Sheets are fitted to booms, and in the case of large vessels 
these ropes are rove off with double blocks. On some large 
booms spans of wire are fitted to carry the pull of the heavy 
sail along the boom. 



Method of fitting deck end of main 
brace 


Por+ 


Fore Leech 
Lines 


"i 


Topsail 

Reeffack/e'' 

Topsail _ 

Bunt line "" 
Taallant .... 
Clew Line. 
Tgallant__.„)f> 
Buntline 


Jib Halliards f 


Fore Buntwhip 
(Optional) 


t 

Forward 


Fore Buntlines 

( o o o i 1 


Starboard 


Monkey Rail 


Port -r - Starboard 

4 Bitfs ^eet 
Port Fore 

Lift Fore^~ 

Port Fore \ Mast 


Bit+s 


Clew Garnet 
Port Fore 
Reef Tackle 

.Topsail 


Buntwhip 



° 


Du 

Topsail 

Halliards 


Starboard 
Fore Lift 
Starboard Fore 
/ew6arnet 


\ Starboard Fore 
'Reef Tackle _ 
'6 
Xt 


Main Staysail down hauls ' 
etc. 

Fife Rail 


T’gallant .... 
Halliards 


Starboard . 
Fore Sheet 


fore Leech 
,• Lines 

Topsail Reef 
Tackle 
Topsail 
'Buntline 

Taallant 
Clew Line 
Taallant 
BuntHhe 


fib Halliard’s 
ere. 

Bullwarks 


-4 


Port Fore 
Sheet 
Bullwark 

Diagram of the deck. Lead of running gear at foremast. Schoolship 
Newport. This gives a general idea of the lead of gear to the deck on a 
square rigger. There are no down hauls as the schoolship has a single topsail. 








200 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Boom tackles , are heavy tackles used for hauling the booms 
forward when running and for hooking against the sheet to 
prevent the heavy boom from slamming over if taken aback by a 
shift of wind or direction of vessel. 

Vangs are light whips leading from the gaff to the deck on 
each side. They are used to steady the gaff when the vessel 
rolls. The lead is so sharp that vangs are not much good except 
with a standing gaff in port, when they steady it amidship. 
When sail is set the vangs had better be left loose. 

Runners or preventer backstays are fitted on most large 
yachts—sloop and schooners. In going about, set taut weather 
runner; let go lee runner. 

The Rigging of Sails 

The gear of a square sail is explained further along in this 
chapter. 

Stay sails hoist by a single halyard, usually rove as a whip, 
standing part in the fork of the stay, and a single block at the 
head of the sail. The down haul reeves from the head of the 
sail down to the tack and then through a lead block along the 
deck. 

Sheets are usually double rove through clump blocks fitted 
into the eyes of the pendants, and haul aft by whips. A wire 
cross over is often fitted between the pendants in the wake of 
the clew to ease the hauling of the clew over the stay next aft. 

Fore and aft sails abaft the masts fit in two ways: 

First, to gaffs and booms, the gaff hoisting on the mast. 

Second, to standing gaffs, the sail hauling out on the gaff or 
brailed to it. In this rig the foot of the sail is loose. The sail 
is then taken in by brails , spilling lines rove around the sail and 
clinched to cringles in the leech. 

Gaff topsails, set by a halyard, a gaff topsail sheet , and a tack. 
The clew being hauled out to the end of the gaff, and the tack 
down over the throat of the lower sail. The head, of course, 
is hoisted along the mast, the luff of the sail being held in by 
mast hoops. 

All large hoisting gaff and boom sails are held to the mast by 
hoops. Hoops are a most important part of the rigging of a fore 




SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


201 


and aft vessel and should only be made of straight grain oak. If 
the mast hoops fail, the vessel may meet with disaster. 



G, Goose neck 

H, Mast hoop, beginning of lacing under reef band. Hoops above 

this are stopped to the leech of sail 

I, Mast ladder, one on each side 

A windsail is shown forward of the mizzen mast, used for venti¬ 
lation in fine weather 

Hanks are another important fitting of all sails that hoist along 
a stay. Where double stays are fitted be sure the hanks used 
are double hanks , with wide flat bows. 

The whole subject of gear and sails, of canvas and rope, is so 
closely allied that much of the running gear will be described 
under the heading, sails. 











202 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


III 

Sails 

Canvas used for sails on American craft is almost entirely 
of cotton. The standard width for sailmaking is 22", although 
special wider sizes are used for racing craft, and 24" duck is 
sometimes employed. Narrow duck runs 14", 16", 18" and 20". 

Canvas is designated by numbers beginning with 00 as the 
heaviest. It runs as follows: 

00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 



1 Flying jib 

2 Outer jib 

3 Inner jib 

4 Fore topmast staysail 

5 Fore royal 

6 Fore upper topgallant sail 

7 Fore lower topgallant sail 

8 Fore upper topsail 

9 Fore lower topsail 

10 Fore sail, or fore course 

11 Main royal staysail 

12 Main topgallant staysail 

13 Main topmast staysail 

14 Main sky sail 

15 Main royal 


Sails of a ship 

16 Main upper topgallant sail 

17 Main lower topgallant sail 

18 Main upper topsail 

19 Main lower topsail 

20 Main sail, or main course 

21 Mizzen topgallant staysail 

22 Mizzen topmast staysail 

23 Mizzen royal 

24 Mizzen topgallant sail 

25 Mizzen upper topsail 

26 Mizzen lower topsail 

27 Crossjack (hanging in gear—not 

set) 

28 Spanker 














SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


203 


Flax duck (Scotch) is soft and handles easily when wet. It is 
extra strong and makes good storm trysails. This duck runs 
24" wide. 

But, as stated before, the standard width and kind of canvas 
used on merchant craft is 22" cotton. Canvas comes in bolts 
of ninety yards. Sails are said 
to be made up of a certain 
number of cloths , referring to 
the widths of canvas used. 

Canvas is tested by boring 
through with a fid. If the 
threads break easily use it with 
suspicion. 

Twine. Cotton sail twine 
usually comes in half pound 
balls and is known by the ply , 
that is the number of threads. 

Sewing twine runs as fol¬ 
lows: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ply. 

Roping twine ) 9, 10, 11 ply. 

Canvas and twine . The fol¬ 
lowing is considered good 
practice in sewing canvas, although sailmakers may differ some 
on this point. 

Canvas 00 and 0 Twine 8 and 7 ply. 

“1 “ 7 and 6 “ 

“ 2 “ (6 ply used two parts 

same as for No. 1.) 

“ 3, 4 and 5 “ 6 ply single. 

4 and 5 ply twine is used for very light work. 

Twine must always be well waxed. 

Seams. Seams are of two kinds, round and flat. 

The round seam is used to join the edges of two pieces of 
canvas, and the needle is taken through the canvas almost at 
right angles, the edge being up. To make this lie flat, the 
round seam is then rubbed. 

The flat seam. Here the canvas lies flat, and the needle is 
taken through the lower piece and up through the edge of the 



Beginning stitch, round seam 







204 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


cloth to be joined. This is the most general way of sewing 
canvas aboard ship. 

In stitching flat seam make four stitches to the inch. 



Sewing canvas, flat seam. A pleasant summer job on deck 

A good sailmaker can sew forty yards of canvas in an eight- 
hour day. It is sometimes useful to know how much a man can 
do in a day, in these times when most folk only think of what 
they can get in a day. Seams are l l / 2 " wide for heavy sails 
and generally run to the blue edge line on the cloth. 

Roping. In roping sails, awnings, dodgers, etc., the following 
proportions are considered good practice : 

Use roping twine, well waxed. 

Leech rope on fore and aft sails, 5%" manila bolt rope, use 
9 ply, six parts through needle, making twelve parts in all. 

4" rope, use four parts of 8 ply. 

3" “ “ three parts of 8 ply. 

2" “ “ three parts of 6 “ . 

1 V2" rope, use two parts of 8 ply. 
















SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


205 



Wire bolt rope . Heavy square sails are roped with wire on 
the leech and foot and with hemp on the head. 

Wire bolt rope is sewn on, 
the stitches being taken 
around the rope. After sew¬ 
ing a canvas chafing strip is 
sewn over all and then 
leathered in the wake of 
bull’s-eyes, blocks, and at 
any point where chafe will 
take place. 

Bolt ropes are also marled 
to the sail. First splice in 
clew irons, get rope on a 
stretch along the edge of the 
tabling. Use a “Lolley” nee¬ 
dle, with 10 or 11 ply roping 

twine, and make the marling Pulling throu 9 h > round seam • Canvas 
i*.M /• is held by a sail hook 

hitches on the fore side 

against the canvas, and opposite to the roping. 



Wire bolt rope . Marled to foot of square sail 


Marling hitches are placed about one inch apart. 

Needles. Sail needles are 
triangular in section for half 
their length from the point, 
then round. 

Long spur needles are used 
for sewing canvas, and are 
designated by numbers as follows 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 
141 / 2 , 15, 151/2, 16, 16%, 17, 171/2. 

The needle most generally used is the 15 two and a half inches 
long, for general repair work on medium canvas. 


Long spur sail needle 


Short spur or Lolley needle 


























206 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Palm 


The higher the number the smaller the needle. 

Roping needles are of the short spur or Lolley's patern, and 
are designated according to use, as follows: flatseam, tabling, 
old work, store, headrope, small boltrope, mid¬ 
dle bolt rope, large bolt rope, small marline, and 
large marline. 

Palms are classified as seaming and roping 
palms the former being light with small seat for 
the end of needle. Roping palms are broad and 
heavy, giving the hand a good purchase in forcing through heavy 
needles. Some are buckled, being adjustable with brass cup 
and pitted iron seat. 

Sail hook is attached to the end of the bench by a lanyard and 
is used to hook into the canvas to keep it on a proper stretch 
while sewing. _ 

Creasing stick is a wooden or ... 

metal tool, split at the end and Pricker 

used for creasing seams. 

Pricker is a small marling spike fitted with a wooden handle. 
Used for opening holes in stiff canvas. 

Rubber is a piece of steel set in a handle, used for rubbing 
down seams. 

Having taken a look at the materials and tools of sailmaking 
we will now name the parts of a sail. 


Square Sails 

A square sail is rarely “ square ”; in fact the writer has 
never seen a perfectly square sail. The top of the sail is the 
head , on either side are the leeches , and the bottom edge is the 
foot. The corners of the sail are known as head cringles where 
head and leeches join and clews where foot and leeches join. 

The sail is bounded by roping; the head cringles are rope or 
metal loops into which the head earings are spliced. These 
earings are long tails of rope, usually ratline stuff, and are used 
in hauling out the head of the sail along the yard, stretching it 
on the jackstay, a rod fitted to the yard, to which the sail is 
fastened by means of robands , long rope yarn stops, hitched in 
the head holes of the sail, these being small stitched holes at 
each seam, worked where the clothes of canvas overlap. Ro- 






SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


207 


bands are passed up forward over the top of the jackstay, and 
down through the head hole from aft forward, until end is nearly 
expended; the two ends are then brought up between the head 
of the sail and the jackstay, one on each side, and knotted on 
top of the roband with a square knot. 

The middle roband, which may be of houseline, is called the 
midship stop. In bending sail this is passed and then the 
weather and lee earings are hauled out (see bending sail). 

Roping is always on the after side of a square sail with one 
exception. In large American ships, cross leeches are fitted on 
the main course, running from the head cringles to the middle 
of the foot where they splice into a ring to which is shackled the 
midship tack. The cross leeches consist of a line of tabling, 
with a rope sewn down the center on the forward side of sail. 
The use of the cross leeches is as follows: When sailing with 
wind on the quarter the weather clew of the mains’le is hauled up, 
leaving the cross leech, from head to middle of foot, to take the 
pull. The midship tack is hauled aft and belayed to a cavil 
(a heavy square belaying pin) on the main fife rail. This rig 
makes the mains’le set perfectly under these conditions. 

Some sailmakers rope “ down leech ” portside and “ up 
leech ” starboard side—a mere technical point. 

Tabling , except at head, is always sewn on the forward side of 
the sail, and the belly bands, reef bands, and lining cloths are 
also sewn on forward, leaving the after side smooth for the action 
of the wind when close hauled or sailing with the wind abeam. 

The canvas and roping of the sails of a ship, three masted, 
square rigged, of two thousand tons, or over, are as follows: 

Courses 

Fore No. 0 canvas j Bolt rope, %" flexible 
Main No. 1 “ i- steel wire. 2" tarred 

Crossjack No. 1 “ J Russian hemp on head. 

Lower topsails* 

Fore No. 0 canvas 
Main No. 0 “ 

Mizzen No. 0 “ 

* The division of the great single topsails of a ship into lower and upper 
topsails, by means of the stationary lower topsail yard, was the invention of 

8 


| Roping same as courses. 


208 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Upper topsails 

Fore No. 1 canvas ] 

Main No. 1 “ j- Roping next size smaller 

Mizzen No. 1 “ J than lower topsails. 

Topgallant sails 

Fore No. 3 canvas 1 Bolt rope flexible wire y 2 ' 
Main No. 3 “ [■ and 1%" Russian hemp 

Mizzen No. 3 “ J head. 

Royals 

Fore No. 4 canvas 1 Bolt rope, wire next smaller. 
Main No. 4 “ [ IV 2 " Russian hemp at 

Mizzen No. 4 “ J head. 

Skysails 

Fore No. 5 canvas 1 Roping of 2" manila on foot 
Main No. 5 “ > and leech. IV 2 " Russian 

Mizzen No. 5 “ J hemp on foot. 

Tabling on these sails is as follows: 

At head, % of a cloth to take chafe of yards, sewn on after 
side of sail. 

Courses and both topsails, tabling of l / 2 cloth at leeches and 
foot, on forward side. 

Topgallant and royals, tabling of % cloth at leeches and 
foot, on forward side. 

Skysails, five or six inches, on leech and foot. 

Spannker, No. 2 canvas. 4 to 5 inch manila bolt rope. 

an American, Captain Frederick Howes, of Brewster, Massachusetts. He 
first put the rig on the ship Climax , of Boston, which he commanded, in 1853. 

This was the greatest advance in the rigging of ships since the beginning 
of the age of sail. It made possible the huge sailing craft of the present day 
where Captain Howes’ improvement extends upward to the topgallant sails. 

It is interesting to note here that two American shipmasters stand in the 
forefront of achievement in the history of their profession. Howes with his 
double topsails, in seamanship, and Sumner with his discovery of the use of 
the line of position, in navigation. It is clearly before the present generation 
of American seamen that they will be expected to contribute as well to the 
advancement of theory and practice on the sea. 


SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


209 


Staysails. 


Fore topmast staysail 

No. 2 canvas 

Jib 

No. 1 

a 

Flying jib 

No. 2 

a 

Outer jib 

No. 3 

a 

Main staysail 

No. 1 

a 

“ topmast staysail 

No. 2 

a 

“ topgallant staysail No. 3 

a 

“ royal staysail 

No. 4 

a 

Mizzen staysail 

No. 1 

a 

“ topmast staysail No. 3 

a 

“ royal staysail 

No. 5 

a 


All of these staysails are roped with manila bolt rope, average 
size 3%" to 2 y 2 ". 

I am indebted to Mr. James Stafford, sailmaker, of 26 
South Street, New York, for this valuable table, and to Mr. 
Henderson, expert sailmaker, with John Curtin of South 
Street, for much valuable assistance and data on sail mak¬ 
ing. 

Machine sewing. Power-driven sewing machines are now 
used in all large sail lofts. The machine-sewn seam is more 
uniform, the tension is regulated and the result is superior to 
hand-sewn work. Machines use a 12 to 15 ply twine. 

All roping is done by hand, as no satisfactory machine has as 
yet been developed for this purpose. 

Eyelets. The brass-bound eyelets used for screens should 
not be used on sails. Eyelets for sails are formed by punching a 
hole in the canvas, about a quarter inch smaller than the finished 
eyelet. This leaves the edges of the canvas under natural 
tension. Never stab, or pry a hole for an eyelet. The eyelets 
are then worked around a small rope or galvanized iron grommet. 
In large hauling out holes, as for heavy awnings, the stitching 
about the hole (well-waxed roping twine) is further protected 
by crimping in a brass rim to prevent cutting the twine. Eye¬ 
lets are generally placed where seams over lap. Head eyelets 
are always so placed. 

The fittings of a square sail. 


210 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Head 
Cringle' 


'For Head 
Hope 


Head cringles are now made of iron, as shown in drawing. 

Clew , or spectacle irons at the clews of a course are shown in 
drawing. Lighter fittings are used on the smaller sails. Where 
sails do not clew up ) such as some modern up¬ 
per topsails and upper topgallant sails, no fit¬ 
ting for clewline blocks is needed. 

Reef cringles are of hemp worked into the 
leech rope of the sail and a heavy galvanized 
iron thimble is forced into them. Where 
leech ropes are of wire the cringle is also of 
wire rope. 

The bands, reef , and belly are sewn across 
the forward side of the heavier sails. 

Lining and chafing cloths are sewn on in 
the wake of gear, such as leech lines, bunt - 
lines, etc. 

Reef points are used on modern sails, they 
are seized to the grommet holes stitched in the seams as de¬ 
scribed above. These reef 
holes are in line along the mid¬ 
dle of the reef bands. Reef 
points differ in square and fore 
and aft sails. In square sails 
the reef point is seized on the 
upper side of the grommet hole. 

In fore and aft sails it is seized 
on the under side of the grommet, 
readily apparent (sketches). 

Double reefs are no longer used in modern sails. Sails are 
squarer , have less drop or hoist, and a single reef is sufficient. 

Length of reef points is as follows: 




Grummet 
/ ' Hole ' 


-Reef Point— 



Fore and Af+ Sail Square Sail 

How reef points are seized into 
grommet holes 


The reason for this is 


7 feet, 6 inches. 
<< 


Fore course, 

Main course, 

Crossjack course, no reef. 

Upper topsails, all masts, 7 feet. 

Topgallant sails, all masts, 6 feet, 6 inches. 

The length of reef points is of course dependent upon the 
diameter of the yards. Some seamen fit shorter reef points at 










SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


211 



the yard arms. Reef points are brought up, around the reefed 
portion of the sail and reef or square knotted on top of yard. 
Reef points are iy 2 feet shorter on forward side of sail. 


Reefing fore sail. Hauling out the weather reef earing. The man at the 
earing is bracing his left foot against the flemish horse 

Reef earings, are hauled out. to a ring bolt on the yard arm 
and passed three or four times, to get a purchase, the end is 
then taken from forward aft and up through the cringle around 
the yard and in that way expended, hitching it to its own hauling 
out part. 

The Gear of a Square Sail 

Halyards (haul yards) haul the yards to their respective mast¬ 
heads, except the stationary yards. 

Stationary yards are: 

Fore yard 

Main yard 

Crossjack yard 

All lower topsail yards 

All lower topgallant yards 

The others are hoisting yards, 







212 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Upper topsail 
Upper topgallant sail 
Topgallant sail (single) 

Royals 

Skysails 

The sheets haul the clews of the sail down to the yard below, 
or, in the case of a course, they haul the clew aft. 

The tacks , in the case 
of a course, haul the sail 
forward. When on a wind, 
a course is hauled forward 
by the tack on the weather 
side, and aft by the sheet 
on the lee side. Therefore 
a vessel is said to be on 
the starboard or port tack. 

Clewlines attach to the 
clews, and haul them up , 
when furling sail. Mod¬ 
ern clewlines generally 
haul up to the yard arms. 
Sails are now very wide 
compared with their depth 
and this is simpler and 
aCourse makes the sail easier to 

stow. Old fashioned prac¬ 
tice was to clew into the 
quarters of the yard form- 

Spectacle irons. The ropes shown on a ^ ar S e 

the sails are topsail clewline, topsail sheet, kunt. This was very diffi- 
Clew garnet, tack, sheet, on the course cult to stow in heavy 

weather. 

Clew garnets are the clewlines of a course. These still clew 
up to the quarters on most ships. 

Upper topsails, and upper topgallant sails do not have clew¬ 
lines, as the yards come down close to the lower topsail and 
topgallant yards and the clews need not be started, accept for a 
close stow when they may be slacked up. 

Clewlines perform a double service. 






SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


213 


In taking in a square sail there are two operations. 

Halyards are eased down, sheets remain fast, clewlines are 
manned and we have the order “ clew down” The clewlines 
help haul the yard down to the cap. When the yard is down, 
the sheets are eased off, and we have the order “ clew up ,” as 
further hauling on the clewlines then brings the clews up to the 
yard. 

The downhauls , on upper topsails and topgallant sails haul 
the yards down in furling. It will be noted that no clewlines 
are fitted on these sails. 



A—Port fore reef tackle—hauled out for reefing 
B—Port fore topsail reef tackle 

Port head earing has just been hauled out and men on th 2 yard are 
passing the reef points 

Buntlines run from the foot of a sail to the yard, leading 
through bulVs eyes , fitted to lizzards on the yards then into the 
mast. They lift up the foot of the sail to help in furling. On 
most sails buntlines are now carried from the after part of the 
yard, down under the foot of the sail, through bulls eyes worked 
into the foot, and up on the forward side of the sail to the other 
bull’s-eyes on the top of the yard. These lines are sometimes 
called spilling lines. They practically furl the sail from the 




214 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


deck. Such lines are only used where the clews come up to the 
yard arms. This is a great advantage in working a large ship 
with a small crew, merchant service fashion. 

Leechlines, are the same as buntlines, and are fitted to the 
leeches of courses, hauling them in along the yard. 

Reef tackles. These are usually fitted to courses, and the 
lower block hooks into the reef tackle cringle, below the reef 
cringle. The upper block hooks to an eye bolt on the bottom of 
the yard arm, well out. In reefing the tackles lift the heavy 
canvas up to the yard and stretch it for the passing of the 
earing. 

The purchase is generally two single blocks, standing part in 
becket of yard arm block. 

Leathering. The corners of all square sails should be leath¬ 
ered. Canvas is sometimes used, but is not as satisfactory. 
Leather is soaked in fresh water, and sewn on while wet. When 
dry it shrinks tight on the bolt ropes. 

Fore and Aft Sails 

The canvas for a large schooner will run about as follows : 


Fore 

No. 00 

Main 

<< 

00 

Mizzen 

u 

00 

Jigger 

u 

0 

Spanker 

u 

0 

Driver 

u 

0 

Fore staysail 

u 

0 

Jib 

u 

1 

Flying jib 

it 

2 

Outer jib 

u 

3 

Jib topsail 

u 

4 


Bolt roping will run about as in the staysails of a square rigger. 

In roping a large gaff and boom sail the bolt rope will run 
about 5l/ 2 " on the leech and 4" on the luff (or “ mast ” as sail- 
makers term it). 

Fore and aft sails are usually fitted with complete sail covers, 
of No. 3 canvas, or even lighter. Sometimes these are water¬ 
proofed. 


SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


215 


Roping on fore and aft sails is generally sewn on the port side, 
tabling to starboard. 

Marking . The names of all sails should be plainly marked 
with a stencil on the canvas just above the clew. This should 
be left near the edge of the roll in making up for easy inspection. 
Stow in lockers so that the clews are near the front. 

Stowage. Sail locker should be dry, and clean. The Chief 
Mate should see that all officers know the stowage of the locker, 
himself included, so that a required sail may be taken out at 
night without much trouble. 

If the ship is troubled with rats, place a good deal of dry 
newspaper in the locker for the rats to chew on. 



Making sails. Sails are seldom made on board ship. The 
writer has seen light sails made on long voyages, but this is 
seldom done nowadays. Should it be necessary to make a sail, 
or to cut down an old sail for use as a jury rig, make an accurate 
draft of the sail to scale. Lay off the cloths on the paper, number 
them, allow for tabling, and then start a square sail at the mid¬ 
ship cloth, and a fore and aft sail at the leech. In roping, pay 
special attention to the work so that when the roping is got on a 
stretch the sail will set flat. 

Fore and aft sails. The parts of a fore and aft sail are illus¬ 
trated under boat sails. The principal fittings are the same in 




































216 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


large schooners. The “ leg of mutton ” sail sometimes set on 
the spanker or jigger mast is called a ring tail when hauled aft 
and not set to a boom. 

Barkentines. The sails and rigging of barkentines, now com¬ 
ing into favor, is simply a combination of square rigger and 
schooner. 

Gaff topsails. These sails run about three numbers lighter 
than the sails they set over, and are roped accordingly. 


Marconi rig. Very lofty leg 
of mutton mansail. No gaff 
topsail, the main sail is topsail 
being in one piece. Head hoists 
to head of topmast. Pole 
masts are used with this 
rig- 



Roach. The roach of a sail is the curving in or out of a foot 
or leech (sketch). 

Repairing sails. This duty devolves upon the seaman, and 
for this reason a great deal of detail has been given with regard 
to sailmaking. A sail is often split, cloths become weak and 
new pieces are needed. Many old sails get thin near the head, 
where the whole weight of the sail is carried and new cloths must 
be put in. 

Many experienced sailmakers advocate cutting across the 
cloths at an angle when setting in new canvas. But the best 
practice is to cut across square, and join new to old at right 
angles to the seams. Where a number of new cloths are to lie 
side by side, stagger the joints. 

In repairing old sails with new canvas use a lighter canvas for 
the new work. One number lighter at least. On a very old 
sail use two numbers lighter. 

Middle stitching. It is often advisable to middle stitch old 
seams. This is sometimes called “ snake stitching.” This is 
fine practice for the boys and ordinary seamen in trade wind 
weather. 


Bending Sail 


The lower sails on a schooner are bent on deck, that is, the 
gaff is lowered, the head is bent, throat and peak lashings are 







SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


217 


Gant Line 


passed, and the foot is bent to the boom, usually to a bending 
jacks tay.* 

Topsails are sent aloft and are bent to the hoops, and tack 
and sheet hooked on. The halyard 
is sent down to the deck and is 
used as a gantline. 

Staysails are bent to the hanks 
as the head of the sail is hoisted 
along the stay by the halyards. 

Tack lashing passed, and the sail is 
ready for business. 

In bending square sails the sail is 
made up for bending, head out , ro- 
bands inserted in head holes, head 
earings clear, and clews out. The 
sail is loosely stopped with spun- 
yarn, and the middle is taken up by 
a gantline , this being a single rope, 
or a single block, hooked to a strap about the sail. 



Sending aloft a square sail 


* A great deal depends on the way a new sail is bent and on its care during 
the first few times it is in use. The first operation of bending a mainsail is 
to make the throat fast, being sure that there is enough slack canvas left 
there so that when the gaff is peaked up there will not be an undue strain. 
The head is then pulled out “ hand taut,” the peak lashed in place and the 
head then laced to the gaff—not with one long lacing round and round the 
gaff, but preferably by a lashing at each grommet. If a single lacing is used 
it should be hitched at each grommet, as otherwise the sail will hang from the 
peak. Then hoist the sail and seize on each hoop. If blowing too fresh the 
gaff may be hoisted only a few feet and each hoop triced up as it is made fast. 
Then secure the tack, either by a shackle or a lashing, make the clew fast and 
lace the foot to the boom. A tag will be found on the sail giving the measure¬ 
ments of head and foot. Do not guess at these, but measure them on gaff 
and boom, and do not haul the sail out beyond the proper points. . . . 

It is probable that the art of sailmaking has never reached as high a degree 
of perfection (especially as regards yacht sails) as at the present time, and 
the advent of steam and the gasolene motor hasn’t driven the sailmaker out 
of business, as many predicted. Indeed, the sailmakers have specialized 
not only on yacht and schooner sails, with sails for the occasional square 
rigger that still ploughs the sea, but on vessel awnings, boat covers, spray 
hoods and wind cloths and the many kinds of canvas work required on the 
modern steamship. Indeed, good sailmakers are in great demand, and the 
larger sail lofts sometimes have difficulty in getting enough men that have had 
experience in all the intricacies of broadseaming, roping, turning in cringles 
and thimbles, and the like.—Henry C. Ames in Yachting . 



218 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Hoist up middle of sail well above the yard to which it is to 
be bent, send it up forward of the yard. Have men on the yard 
lead out the head earings. If a very large sail, hook handy 
billy to each head cringle. Haul away on these and lower gant- 
line. Pass midship stop, haul out head earings, pass robands, 
hook and mouse all gear. 

To unbend, haul up sail in gear, cast off midship stop, pass 
strop around middle of sail, hook gantline, haul taut, cut robands 
and ease away on head earings, having detached all gear. 

To shift sail. Sail is usually shifted at sea when making a 
passage, from fine to bad weather or vice versa. This is done, 
one or two sails at a time and a smart crew can shift the canvas 
in a day or two. All gear is kept aloft and unhooked and hooked 
as the case may be as the sails come up. Watch the weather 
carefully before starting this work. 

To bend a course in blowing weather. Stretch the head of 
the sail across the deck as near as possible; bend the gear, 
then bring the leeches of the sail as near where it should haul 
up on the yard as possible, then stop sails well about every two 
or three feet; besides the yard buntlines, have one in ’midship 
of the sail. When ready, man altogether, and run up to the 
yard; then the sail may be bent and furled with very little 
difficulty. 

Care of sails. At sea sails naturally dry out, as sail is set 
whenever it will draw. Do not stow wet sails in the locker with 
other dry canvas. 

In port always loose sail after each rain. Be certain to do this 
in warm weather as canvas will sweat. Even if no rain has fallen 
loose sail when conditions are favorable. 

When alongside unbend sail and stow away. Stow all running 
gear, reeving off temporary braces and gear with old stuff. 

When in an open harbor do not strip the vessel of all sail. 
Leave enough sail on the yards to work ship with in case of a 
sudden blow. 

The writer recalls an incident on the auxiliary bark Frithjof 
in the arctic. Her sails were never loosed and he thought it 
a good idea to try them on the voyage home. As soon as 
sheeted home they began to melt away, the canvas being thor¬ 
oughly rotten. A few months later, in 1907, this vessel was lost 


SAILING SHIP RIGGING 


219 


with all hands on the coast of Iceland. Her canvas had not 
been replaced, the spare sails being as poor as the ones we 
lost. She went ashore before a heavy gale, being unable to 
ratch off. 

IV 

Canvas Work 

On board ship, whether sail or steam, there is a great deal of 
canvas fitting. The following notes may be of service and are 
given as a guide. 

Tarpaulins. For schooners, where the hatches are liable to 
be under water, No. 1 canvas is used, at least for the top cover. 

Steamers use No. 4 can¬ 
vas, waterproofed. 

Tarpaulins are made 
large enough to cover the 
hatch and fold down six 
inches below the battens. 

The custom is to use three 
tarpaulins one over an¬ 
other. 

Tarpaulin canvas comes 
waterproofed in the bolt, 
and the seams are treated after making. 

Awnings. Large steamer awnings are made of No. 2 canvas. 
Ridge rope 2" manila. Bolt rope 2" manila or iy 2 inch hemp. 

Stops on a heavy awning 
should be fitted to two 
grommet holes as shown 
in sketch. 

Smaller awnings run 
down to No. 5 canvas. 

Awnings are held up by 
a euphroe and crow’s foot, 
the latter with ends spliced 
into the ridge rope. 

In tropical trades it is 
sometimes the custom to 
fit double awnings, the up- 
one, about a foot below it, 



per one of white canvas, the lower 



A, Hole into which awning stop C is 

spliced 

B, Hauling-out hole 
E, Seam 

D, Jacks tag 









220 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


of dark blue canvas of lighter grade. The lower awning should 
be furled at night. The reason for this rig is obvious. Side 
screens are fitted below the edge of the lower awning. 

To house an awning. On the approach of a squall, cast off 
stops and bring them down below the rail, or if no rail, close to 
the deck, securing where handy. This keeps out the wind and 
rain. Many ships, where sudden squalls come up at night, 
always house or furl awnings after sunset. 

Windsails. Windsails find much use in hot climates where 
extra ventilation is needed. 

Make of No. 5 or 6 canvas. Roped with 21 thread manila or 
hemp (sketch). 

Bridge dodgers. No. 1 canvas, roped and fitted with grommet 
eyes for lacing or lashing to jackstay. 

Crow's nest dodgers. Nos. 1 or 2 and 3 canvas. When 
painted use No. 4 canvas, as paint makes dodger much heavier. 

Wet before painting with soapy water. 
Takes less paint and keeps canvas half way 
pliable. 

Rail screens. No. 5 or 6 canvas. Brass 
eyelets along tabling, lace top and bottom. 
Do not paint, keep scrubbed. 

Ventilator covers. No. 3 to 6 canvas. 
Fit with draw strings long enough to run 
down to handle of ventilator. Covers often 
blow off and this keeps them on board. 

Boat covers. 10 and 12 ounce duck, gen¬ 
erally used. Should not be too heavy. 

Mast coats. Use No. 1 canvas. Usually 
treated to make fire proof. Always painted. 

Oil bags. Use No. 2 canvas, cross sec¬ 
tion triangular, bag shaped like a beech nut, 
with roping of 15 thread hemp at joints. At 
bottom the bags of good design have a drip pipe filled with 
oakum (sketch). 

A vessel kept in good order will have neat canvas covers for 
hoze and wire, reels, for sounding machines, binnacles, pelorus, 
telegraphs, cargo winches and other fittings. 





CHAPTER 7 


DECK MACHINERY 

The various mechanical devices, engines, winches, capstans, 
windlasses, steering and towing machinery, and deck pumps, 
are usually taken care of by the engineering force of the vessel, 
but their use, and very often their management, is part of the 
duty of the deck department and a book on seamanship may well 
include a brief description of the most usual types of these 
machines. 

The windlass, steering engine and towing engine will be 
treated under later divisions of Standard Seamanship. In this 
chapter we will confine our attention to winches, capstans, and 
deck pumps. 

I 

Cargo winches . 

There are in general six types of steam winches in common 
use on board ship.* 

1 . Friction drum winch. Drum held to gears by cone friction 
band. 

2. Winch having keyed drum and reverse link or valve motion. 

3 . Steam reverse valve winch operated by a single lever. Rais¬ 

ing lever hoists the load, lowering lever pays out the rope 
and lowers load. 

4. Friction gear winches. 

5. Two speed winch. The favorite English type and used on 

American vessels frequently to handle extra heavy booms. 

6 . Winches having winch heads but no drum; used for light 

loads and quick handling with manila rope hoist. 

In addition to these types there are of course many combina¬ 
tions of the same; for instance, friction drum with link motion, 

* Mr. J. S. Carswell, of the Lidgerwood Manufacturing Company’s Marine 
Department, very kindly supplied me with valuable data on ship winches. 

221 


222 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


varying numbers and arrangements of winch heads, and also 
multiple drum winches. 

Double drum winches of the friction type are quite common 
on the smaller ships where they do not have room for two 
winches at a hatch. 

When operating under high steam pressure, say over 125 lbs., 
the ordinary slide valve commonly used on winches is not suc¬ 
cessful, and piston valves are required. 



Steam reverse valve winch. Drum keyed to gear. To hoist load f raise 
lever. To lower load , lower lever. Brake shown at right edge of cut is for 
emergency only. 

Winches may be made with straight or herringbone gears. 

The following rules for the operation and care of ship's auxili¬ 
aries have been drawn up by the Lidgerwood Company: 

1 . Auxiliaries of any type will give better service if they are 
oiled up thoroughly and turned over at least every day, whether 
the ship be in port or at sea. 

2 . On steam auxiliaries drip cocks should be opened before 
each operation and the throttle opened very slowly and steam 
chests and cylinders given a chance to warm up before the engine 
is operated. 

The Dew Valve is an automatic relief valve for draining steam 


DECK MACHINERY 


223 



cylinders, and has proven efficient on auxiliary ship machinery 
such as winches, windlasses and pumps. 

3. Care should be taken that every bearing and outside 
rubbing surface is lubricated. This is usually done twice a 
day when in operation. 

4. On shipboard no lubricant is used in the steam chest or 
cylinders on account of the steam being condensed and returned 
to boiler. The Lidgerwood Mfg. Co. makes it a practice on 
ship’s auxiliaries to coat all cylinders and rubbing parts of the 


A compound geared winch (two speed). Gear shift shown at hack of winch. 

reciprocating parts with a special compound of graphite and 
vaseline. The engines are given a run before leaving the shops 
and this compound is thoroughly worked into the rubbing sur¬ 
faces. 

5. Care should be taken in winding the rope on the drum to 
see that it lays evenly across the face and in succeeding layers. 
This should be given exceptional care at the start and should 
be watched as closely as possible during the operation of the 
winches. Due to the frequent short leads on shipboard it is 
hard to have a perfect rope lay. The life of the rope and of the 
face of the drum will be very materially lengthened by care 
being taken in this respect. The rope leads from drum to first 
sheave should be as great as possible at all times, care being 
taken in this respect especially when making new installations. 
This materially aids the lay of the rope. 


224 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


6. Winch heads should be carefully polished before ship¬ 
ment and should be kept so. It will materially increase the 
life of the manila rope used on them. When not in operation 
they should be coated with lubricant to prevent rust. As soon 
as grooving appears on the face of any winch head due to cutting 
from slipping the rope too long in one position, this face should 
immediately be turned off to eliminate such grooving. 

7. Care should be taken to watch for any knocks that may 
occur in the engine elements. This usually means a loose 
bearing. If the bearings are tightened down promptly on dis¬ 
covery of knocks, they will last longer, wear more evenly, and 
save wear on the engine elements. The heating of bearings or 
rubbing parts is due either to insufficient lubrication, improper 
adjustment (too tight), or grit in bearing. 

8. Gearing should be kept lubricated. Experience has indi¬ 
cated that in normal weather a good lubricant is “ Crater Com¬ 
pound ” manufactured by the Texas Co. In very severe weather 
this becomes too stiff and a lighter compound “ Thuban Com¬ 
pound ” is more desirable. Many other good lubricants are of 
course available. 



A friction gear winch. Note absence of cogs. For fast light loads. 

9. Worm gearing, which is more commonly used on steering 
engines than other types of auxiliaries, should be furnished so 
that the worm will run in an oil bath, and this bath should be 
kept full. The worm is usually provided with some sort of 
adjustable thrust washers, and care should be taken that these 
are kept in adjustment and the worm kept in a central position 
as regards the worm wheel. 



DECK MACHINERY 


225 


10. Bearings should be occasionally examined to see that they 
are wearing evenly, and the gearing should be examined to see 
that it is in proper mesh. Should the drum shaft bearings 
chance to wear more quickly than the crank shaft bearings, the 
gear may tend to drop toward the pinion and bottom, possibly 
breaking the teeth of one or the other. 

11. On friction drum winches the load should be lowered on 
the brake and not by slipping the frictions. The brake is de¬ 
signed for the purpose of slipping to lower the load, while if the 
frictions are continually slipped they will wear quickly, perhaps 
burn, and present an uncertain holding power which may result 
in disaster, possibly dropping a load and badly damaging the 
ship or injuring stevedores in the hold. 

12. Electrically driven auxiliaries must have the electrical 
equipment protected from the weather. When auxiliaries can¬ 
not be under cover they may be protected in several other ways. 

1. Watertight electrical equipment supplied. 

2. Waterproof motor—controller and resistance mounted below 

deck. 

Note: This cannot usually be done on freighters because 
there is danger of the hot resistance igniting or exploding 
cargo in the hold. 

3. Removable watertight casings mounted over equipment. 

13. On electrical auxiliaries care must be taken to keep the 
commutator and brushes free from oil and dirt. 

Repairs 

14. It is the present custom of almost all large manufacturers 
to give their finished products serial numbers. Any officer in 
charge of auxiliaries should be instructed to learn (from in¬ 
quiring of the manufacturer direct if information is not otherwise 
available) where these serial numbers are placed on the auxiliary, 
and in ordering repair parts the serial number of the auxiliary 
for which the parts are used should always be stated. On 
Lidgerwood steam winches and steering engines the serial num¬ 
bers are stamped on the tops of the rear cylinder heads and on 
the rear ends of the top surface of the slide bars. On electric 
auxiliaries they are stamped or cast on plates mounted on the 
resistance and are stamped on the side of the bedplate under 
the right hand main bearing. 

15. On most auxiliaries, particularly single drum winches, the 
hand should also be stated. The hand is determined by the 
side on which the operating levers are placed viewing the aux¬ 
iliary from the cylinder end. 

16. Repair parts should be ordered by name of part, and the 
number wanted should be given rather than ordering by sets. 


226 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


On American craft the reverse valve type of winch is gaining 
in favor, while foreign practice favors the link motion. The 
link motion, by the way, is the famous Stephenson’s Link. 
With a working pressure of 100 lbs. per inch, a good steam winch 
should attain a hoisting speed of 250 feet per minute slinging a 
one ton load. The loads of course depend upon the type of 
cargo, and the gear used. With heavy loads winch speeds must 
decrease. 

Electric winches are gaining in favor and will undoubtedly be 
largely used when motor ships become more common. The elec¬ 
tric winch is more flexible than the steam winch, the decks are 
kept clear of steam pipes, heat losses are avoided, and power is 
available at shorter notice, with chance of freezing up eliminated. 



An electric cargo winch. Control at right. 


The first cost of electric equipment is considerably higher 
than for steam winches; but offsetting this are a number of 
important advantages. The electric winch is more economical 
to operate; it is claimed that it cuts loading or unloading time in 
half, affords much better control of the load, eliminates standby 
charges that increase steam operation costs when delays occur, 
makes the winches available any time on short notice and 
eliminates trouble. 

The greater speed with electric winches is credited to the 
degree of control which the operators have over the load. It 


DECK MACHINERY 


227 


can be dropped rapidly to within a few feet of the bottom of the 
hold and then slowed down to enable it to be swung into place. 
The return of the empty hook is also made much faster than 
with steam winches. 

The positive unwinding drive of the electric winch brings down 
the empty hook as rapidly as desired. Should the current fail 
during operation, the automatic brake will hold the load sus¬ 
pended until the current comes on again. The motors are pro¬ 
tected against overload on low voltage by a double point circuit 
breaker and contactor panel. If an overload comes on the circuit 
breaker goes out and is cut in again automatically when the 
control lever is returned to neutral position. A single lever 
controls each winch, and no foot brakes are required. It is 
notable that levers and directions of movement are the same 
as in the old steam winches, so that new operators have no 
difficulty in “ breaking in .” 

Trouble heretofore experienced with electric machinery above 
deck is believed to be due very largely to inadequate protection 
from salt air and water. As now installed, the motors are not 
merely weatherproof, but are made absolutely watertight. The 
controlling apparatus is enclosed in a watertight steel case with 
two watertight doors, which can be opened for ventilation 
during use. The lever shaft which operates the controller is 
carried through the side of the control case in a stuffing box, 
packed like a piston rod. Wires are led through watertight 
conduit. The motors are direct geared to the winding drum, 
and friction drums and hand brakes are entirely eliminated. 

II 

The Placement and Use of Cargo Winches 

The following series of valuable photographs have been given 
to Standard Seamanship by Mr. Ernest Pulsford, manager of the 
Marine Department of the Lidgerwood Manufacturing Company. 
Careful study of the location and method of rigging and operating 
ship’s winches has been made by this company. The author 
wishes to express his appreciation of the generous way in which 
these photographs are made available for the benefit of seamen 
and all others concerned in the efficient design and operation of 
vessels. 


228 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Illustration A shows a pair of single friction drum winches 
with reverse gear, installed at the hatch. 

Stevedores lay particular stress upon the advantage gained 
with these winches in overhauling the empty line by the reverse 
gear. 

A Second Mate in referring to these winches said: “They 
will handle any kind of load, and you don’t have to wear a man 


A. Single friction drum winches. 

out overhauling a light line all day—just kick it over with the 
reverse.” 

Illustration B shows an interesting group of single friction 
drum winches. At the hatch in the foreground the stevedores 
are operating a pair of two speed (compound gear) winches with 
single friction drum. These two speed winches are designed 
for handling cargo of greatly varying weights. Forward of the 
mast are two single friction drum winches. 

Illustration C shows the rigging provided for fixing one boom 
over the hatch and the other over the side of the vessel, both 
whips being permanently attached to a single hook forming what 
is called “ yard and stay method ” or “ burton method.” These 
winches are installed so that one operator, standing where he 
can see down into the hatch while hoisting, operates both 






DECK MACHINERY 


229 




B. Two-speed single friction drum winches. 

Note: The figures on the hatch coaming are: The register number. The 
net tonnage. The vessel's signal letters of the International Code. 


C. Reverse lever winches at hatch. Wooden steamer. 







230 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


winches, the one to hoist and the other to swing the load out to 
the dock or barge alongside. 

Illustration D shows “ two speed ” ship winches (compound 
gear). They are particularly well-adapted for use with heavy 
derrick booms, the base of such a boom showing in the illus¬ 
tration. 

These drums are so constructed that they may be bolted fast 
to the friction gear, and the winch used as a fixed drum reverse 



D. Heavy duty winches. 


motion winch. This is generally done when hoisting very heavy 
loads, the drum being driven through the compound intermediate 
gear giving high hoisting duty at low speed. The drum is of 
ample size to hold the large amount of rope required with the 
multi-part blocks generally used on the heavy booms. 

The same winch rapidly handles light loads on the single gear 
reduction, the drum being operated through the friction. 

A foot operated band brake is provided on the drum to control 
the lowering of the load when hoisting with the friction, or to hold 
the drum while hoisting on the winch head. 



DECK MACHINERY 


231 


Illustration E shows a “ side by side ” double friction drum 
winch. 

When this photograph was taken only one of the drums was 
being operated. Each drum operates independently of the other, 
and hoisting and lowering can be done on both drums simul¬ 
taneously, or independently, by two operators. The operators 
stand one on each side of the engine, each operating the drum 
on his side. Each side of the engine is the same, with separate 
throttle valves, and each man handles his own friction lever, 



E. “ Side by side ” winch . 


foot brake and throttle valve, entirely independent of the other. 
The loads are hoisted by the friction drums, then taken upon the 
brakes, and either held or lowered. 

The advantage of this type of winch is that a hoisting line is 
always attached to each drum and they are always ready for 
immediate use, saving delay in changing ropes which is necessary 
when using a single drum engine working two booms. 

Illustration F shows two of our double side by side friction 
drum winches, each arranged for the operation of two booms, 
using one winch with two booms at each hatch. 

This is a very good illustration of an equipment suitable for 





232 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



G. Operator's platform and raised winch bed. 






DECK MACHINERY 


233 



the smaller size cargo steamers, showing how the compact double 
drum winch can be more conveniently installed on such ships 
than two single drum winches. 

Illustration G shows how an experienced marine super¬ 
intendent set the winches. It is a good form of structural 
foundation. 

This foundation serves the three-fold purpose of securing the 
winch, leveling it, and raising it above the wash of the sea. 


H. The yard and stay method of hoisting cargo. 

The illustration also shows an operator’s platform adjusted to 
correct height for easy handling of the levers, and which also 
gives the operator a full view of the hold. 

Illustration H shows the “yard and stay”or “burtoning” 
method of hoisting cargo. 

Two booms, with two winches, are generally used at each hatch. 
One boom is swung over the center of the hatch, carrying the 
main hoisting whip leading from the drum of one of the winches, 
and this whip hoists the cargo from the hold. The other boom 
is swung out-board, and the second winch operating the whip 
on this boom swings the load after it is hoisted clear of the 
hatch, and then lowers it alongside. In loading, the operation is 
reversed. 




234 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


There is one operator at each winch. The far winch has just 
hoisted the load from the wharf, and the near winch is pulling 
the load over the hatchway, preparatory to lowering it into the 
hold; the far operator releasing the friction, controlling the height 
and swing of the load by the brake. When the load arrives over 
the hatch it is lowered into the hold, controlled by the brake on 
the near winch. 



/. Loading with a single winch. 


Illustration I shows a method of cargo handling by the use of 
single friction drum winch particularly well adapted to the 
handling of light loads. With this method one winch and one 
boom are employed, the boom being held over the center of the 
hatch. The winch hoists the load from wharf or lighter sliding 
it on a broad skid, and when the load clears the bulwark it swings 
over the hatch by gravity. The hatch tender by means of a 
guide line prevents the load from taking an excessive swing and 
bringing up against the hatch coaming. The load is then lowered 
into the hold by the brake and friction. As soon as the load is 
unhooked the hatch tender snaps the hoisting line, twirling it 
over the side of the ship, and it is in position to hook on the next 
load. With an experienced man on the guide line remarkably 
rapid work is done in this way. 



DECK MACHINERY 


235 



II 

Capstans and Warping Winches 

Steam capstans. These should be readily unkeyed for use 
by hand with pigeonholes and bars ready. Capstans driven by 
power, either steam or elec¬ 
tricity are generally placed on 
the forecastle head, amidship, 
and on the bows, depending 
upon the size of the vessel. 

Additional capstans just for¬ 
ward of the bridge, amidship, 
and on the quarters as well as 
in the stern ^re to be found on 
large vessels for use in hand¬ 
ling lines when going alongside. 

The large mooring lines are so 
heavy, and the side out of wa¬ 
ter so great, that such power 
must be used both in docking 
and in handling lines with the 
change in tide. The use and location, with leads, bollards, and 
reels for wire should be understood by the officers charged with 


Head 

--Pigeon Holes 


Barrel 


Base 


A deck capstan (see illustration of 
forecastle head capastan, page 641). 


Docking winch. 














236 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


their use, and petty officers should also be familiar with their 
working. 

Docking and warping winches. These take the place of 
capstans in some vessels and are often preferred. They are 
geared at least 10 to 1 and have large winch heads. Many 
tankers are fitted with these winches on the after deck. 

When about to warp the vessel, particularly in a tide way, or 
when there is considerable wind, be certain that full steam 
pressure is available in the deck lines, that all water is out of the 
cylinders, and that the winches and capstans are in order. 
Steam under low pressure will sputter around quite lively, but 
when the load comes on the winches there is nothing doing.* 

IV 

Pumps 

Pumps. The pumping machinery is so much a part of the me¬ 
chanical equipment of the engine room, that nowadays most deck 
officers forget that such things as pumps exist. No rules can be 
laid down with regard to ships’ pumps, but deck officers, and 
masters especially, should know what the ship’s pumps can do. 
How fast ballast can be shifted from forward trimming tanks aft, 
and the reverse, and how long it will take to pump out any tank, 
and the amount of water (weight) that will be discharged. A 
study of this and the tons per inch scale will give an officer a fair 
idea as to how much he can. lighten, or list, his ship at any given 
time, knowing the condition of the ballast tanks. 

Pumps for fire use are as important as the bilge and emergency 
pumps. In any emergency—grounding, collision or fire—the 
efficient use of pumps is an important part of seamanship. 

Roughly the pumps in a ship are as follows: Condenser circu¬ 
lating pump. (This is the pump that discharges the great stream 
of water we see coming from the side of ships a few feet above 
the load line. The water has been taken in low down, passed 
through the condenser to cool off the exhaust steam, and is dis¬ 
charged as above. The exhaust steam, in a coil of pipes, returns 
to the hot well as hot water and is ready to go back into the 
boilers and work again as steam. This circulating pump should 
always be in mind when a vessel goes aground on a sandy bottom. 

*In freezing weather keep steam on all deck lines and turn winches over 
as often as necessary to avoid freezing. When laid up be certain all water 
is drained from pipe lines and cylinders. 


DECK MACHINERY 


237 


The pump should be stopped at once to prevent the condenser 
filling with sand.)* Main boiler feed pumps; Auxiliary boiler 
feed pumps; Fire pumps; Bilge pumps; General service 
pumps, fresh water, sanitary, etc.; and on a tanker, Cargo 
pumps. There are also oil pumps f and air pumps. 

The American Bureau of Shipping has set certain requirements 
for steam pumping arrangements with which the master and 
chief mate should be familiar. Tank suctions are regulated by 
the size of the tank, running from 2 V 2 inches in diameter for a 
tank under 20 tons, to 7% inches in diameter for a tank over 
1,000 tons and under 1,300 tons. Also the main suction line 
must not be of less diameter than that required for the largest 
tank in the vessel. 

Extracts from the A.B.S. rules follow: 

All steamers are to be provided with efficient steam pumping 
plant, having the suctions and means for drainage so arranged 
that any water which may enter any compartment of the Ship 
and any watertight section of a compartment can be pumped 
through at least one suction when the Vessel is on even keel and 
upright, or has a list of five degrees. Satisfactory means are to 
be provided for draining the tops of tanks in order to comply 
with this requirement. . . 

All pipes from the pumps which are required for draining 
cargo or machinery spaces should be entirely distinct from pipes 
which may be used for filling or emptying spaces where water 
is carried; the arrangement of the valves, etc., should be such 
to prevent water passing from the sea and from such water 
spaces into the machinery and cargo spaces, or from one com¬ 
partment to another. If a suction pipe from the engine room 
is led to the fore peak, a screw-down stop-valve capable of being 
operated from above the bulkhead deck, is to be fitted on the 
suction inside the fore peak. 

(Note: This is to prevent pumping the ocean through the 
ship if she is stove in forward of the collision bulkhead. Author.) 

The Main and Donkey Pumps are to draw from all compart¬ 
ments, and in addition, the donkey is to have a separate bilge 
suction in the engine room. The pumps are to be of sumcien 
capacity to give a speed of water through the pipes of not less 
than 400 feet per minute, under ordinary working. 

Main circulating pumps should have direct suction connections 
to the lowest drainage level in the machinery space. The 
diameter of these connections should be at least twice the diam¬ 
eter of the engine room main suction line. 

* (See page 739.) 


238 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Distribution Boxes , cocks, and valves are to be in positions 
which are accessible at all times under ordinary circumstances. 

Bilge and Ballast Suction Pipes are to be efficiently secured, 
and straps are to be fitted at the middle of the length of each 
range of pipes to prevent fore and aft movement. Efficient 
expansion joints are to be fitted, and where the connections at 
the ends of each range of pipes are made with lead bends, the 
radii of the bends and the distance between the centers of the 
radii should each be equal to 3 diameters, and the length of the 
bend to 8 diameters of the pipe. 

Roses and Boxes are to be easily accessible for examination 
and cleaning. The bilge suctions in machinery spaces and 
tunnel wells should be led from easily accessible mud boxes 
placed wherever practicable above the level of the working floor, 
and should have straight tail pipes to the bilges. The suction 
ends in other spaces should be enclosed in strum boxes having 
perforations whose combined area is not less than three times 
that of the suction pipe, and so constructed that they can be 
cleared without breaking the joints of the suction pipe. 

Sounding Pipes are to be fitted to each compartment and 
ballast tank, with a thick doubling plate securely fixed under 
each pipe, for the rod to strike upon. These pipes are to be 
fitted, without bends, directly into the compartment intended to 
be sounded, and are to extend to the bulkhead deck or to a 
position which is always accessible; if in accessible positions 
below the bulkhead deck they are to be fitted with non-detach- 
able screw caps. 

Air Pipes , not less than 2 inches in diameter, are to be fitted 
at each corner of each ballast tank; this requirement may be 
modified in the case of small tanks and increased for large tanks; 
the total area of the pipes should always be greater than that 
of the supply pipes and in the case of deep tanks should be at 
least twice that of the supply pipes. Efficient arrangements must 
be made to permit of the air getting freely to the pipes while the 
tanks are being filled. Where the tank top is peaked, cambered, 
or has sheer, air pipes are to be fitted at the highest position. 

Air , sounding and suction pipes are to be effectively protected 
against the risk of damage from cargo, coal, etc. 

In the old days the mates and “ chips ” knew all about the 
ship's pumps. It might be a good idea to find out all about the 
pumps of a modern vessel. 

Installation and Care of Pumps* 

Alignment. Pumps should be set positively in line on a stiff 
foundation. Particular care should be taken with long stroke 

* From Marine Engineer's Handbook , Sterling. 


DECK MACHINERY 


239 


vertical pumps which have tie bar connections. When set, to 
test alignment, remove glands from both piston rod stuffing 
boxes, move piston rod to one end of stroke, try glands in both 
boxes. Remove glands, move piston rod to opposite end of 
stroke and try the glands again. If any sign of binding exists 
make proper adjustment in setting of pump. 

Location. The pump should be located in the ship as close 
to its work as conditions will conveniently allow, with as short 
and direct suction and discharge pipe connections as circum¬ 
stances will permit. An air pump should be located lower than 
the condenser so that condensate will drain directly into pump 
cylinders. Provide a proper space around pump so that all 
parts requiring inspection or adjustment are conveniently 
accessible. 

Pump connections. Always connect pump so as to secure a 
full and uniform supply of liquid to be handled. The extreme 
theoretical height to which water can be lifted by atmospheric 
pressure alone is 33.9 feet. In practice this seldom exceeds 25 
feet; the smaller the suction lift can be made, the better. Suc¬ 
tion pipe should be as short as possible and never smaller than 
opening on pump. As there is a considerable loss of head due 
to friction, the diameter of long lines of pipe should be increased 
to allow for this, and for the same reason bends of large radius 
and as few in number as possible should be used. 

The same remarks apply to discharge pipe, although not with 
the same force, since in the discharge pipe the full power of the 
pump is always available to force the liquid through the piping, 
while in the case of the suction pipe, only the atmospheric pres¬ 
sure is available to force the liquid into the pump. Avoid all air 
leaks in air pump connections; otherwise vacuum will be 
impaired. 

All valves in the suction and discharge piping should be gate 
valves, and at least as great in opening as the area of the pipe. 
Globe valves offer too much resistance to the flow of the liquid. 

Steam connections. Steam and exhaust pipe connections 
should always be made with due allowance for expansion of 
steam pipe, and of ample size—never less than the opening on 

the pump. . 

A throttle valve should be placed in the steam pipe as close 
to the pump as possible, and a drip cock or bleeder valve should 
be provided for draining the main steam pipe before starting 

the pump. , , ,. 

Blow out the steam pipe thoroughly before connecting the 
pump. Any dirt or chips carried into the steam cylinder will cut 

and injure it seriously. . , , .. „ 

Air chambers. A suction air chamber placed on the suction 
pipe close by the pump is distinctly recommended for fire pumps 

9 


240 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


with high suction lift, short stroke pumps and pumps running 
at high speed. Care should be taken to locate this suction 
chamber in a continuation of the line of flow in the suction pipe 
so as to receive the impact of the water column and thus cushion 
the pulsations in the most efficient manner. 

A discharge air chamber should also be provided on the dis¬ 
charge of a heavy pressure pump in a continuation of the line of 
discharge pipe; in exceptional cases where the pump is subject 
to very heavy duty, it is an advantage to provide an air pet cock 
on the suction pipe close to the pump. By opening this pet cock 
slightly, a small amount of air may be admitted to the pump 
with the water, and the discharge air chamber kept supplied with 
the proper quantity to cushion the outflowing water. 

Lubrication. All bearings, joints of moving parts and piston 
rods should be lubricated before starting pumps, and also at 
short intervals when in operation. All grease cups should be 
packed with Albany grease. Where bearings are divided, keep 
same adjusted with shims. 

Packing. Keep stuffing boxes well filled with a good quality 
of packing, but do not screw up glands too tight, and do not allow 
same packing to remain in stuffing boxes long enough to become 
so hard that it will score the piston rods. 

Both main and auxiliary steam pistons are packed by means 
of carefully fitted cast iron spring packing rings, which are 
self-adjusting and need no attention whatever; replacement on 
account of wear is necessary only after many years of service. 

When water pistons are packed with fibrous packing, trouble 
sometimes arises from swelling of the packing, causing the 
pump to operate stiffly and make uneven strokes, etc. This is 
especially so when pumping hot liquids, and sometimes it is 
necessary to take out the packing and thin it down. This is 
done by stripping a layer from one side of the strand or ring, or 
hammering it if packing is of the braided type, as the swelling 
is usually lateral. In fitting a piston with new packing, it is well 
to soak the packing in warm water over night before fitting it. 
New packing should not be crowded into the piston, but should 
fit the packing space loosely. When it becomes wet the swelling 
will cause it to fit in the space. 

Pump air bound. Hot water cannot be raised by suction, as 
it vaporizes when atmospheric pressure is removed, and the 
vapor is alternately expanded and compressed in pump cylinders 
without being expelled. 

Laying up. When pump is to be kept out of commission for 
any considerable time, slush interior of steam chest with cylinder 
oil to prevent corrosion. If steam end is fitted with lubricator, 
fill this with oil and open cock so oil can flow to steam chest. A 
few quick pump strokes will distribute oil over steam end of pump. 


CHAPTER 8 


HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 

I 

Holds 

In many respects the most important compartments in the 
hull of a vessel are the holds. In a vessel devoted to the carriage 
of cargo this is strictly so, for the holds represent earning capacity. 
The holds are usually numbered commencing from forward, for 
convenience of reference, and for the purpose of allocating cargo 
or locating it by its markings in the cargo book. 

Number 1 hold comes immediately abaft of the collision 
bulkhead. 

In a typical cargo vessel, as shown in the illustrations*, number 
2 hold extends forward of the cross bunker, the division bulkhead 
between holds 1 and 2 being in the vicinity of the fore mast. 
Hold number 3 comes abaft of the engine room space, and hold 
number 4 is immediately forward of the after peak bulkhead, 
the division bulkhead between these holds being near the main 
mast. 

Other hold arrangements are employed and in larger vessels 
the holds are more numerous, but vessels devoted to the carriage 
of freight have very large holds and the four-hold system is 
followed up to about fifteen thousand tons D.W. 

The parts of a hold are briefly enumerated: 

The wake of the hatch is that part immediately under the 
hatch opening. 

The wings of the hold are the spaces on either side of the 
hold, usually considered to lie above the upper side stringers. 

The limbers , are the gutters on either side of the keel, or 
where a double bottom is fitted at the sides of the tanks, next 
the margin plates. It is here that the water collects which comes 
into the bilge of the vessel. 

* See pages 244-254. 


241 


242 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Limber boards are removable boards, or steel shutters, cover¬ 
ing the limbers. They are a part of the flooring, or ceiling of the 
hold. 

Hold stringers are simply the stringers where they pass 
through the holds. The loose dunnage and chocking pieces are 
usually stowed on these where they can be got at when loading. 
Stanchions and pillars are the upright columns, often bolted in 
place so that they can be removed when stowing or discharging 
very large pieces of cargo. 



A typical No. 1 hold. Note lower 'tween deck seen looking up through 
the hatch. Note flat floors over tank tops. Limber boards lifted at far end 
of hold. Ancient dunnage rules are useless in such holds. 


Cargo battens , substantial wooden planking, are fitted at the 
sides of the hold to keep cargo from contact with the steel frames 
and shell plating of the vessel. 

Hold ladders are usually permanent and on the center line 
on either the fore or aft side of the hatch opening, these should 
be examined whenever the holds are empty as the rungs are 
often knocked or pulled loose while loading and discharging. 

The pipe lines running through, or into the holds are generally 
as follows: 

The sounding pipes , leading from the upper deck to the tanks 
and bilges. Great care should be taken that these pipes are 







HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


243 


not injured by cargo; they should be examined after each 
cleaning of the hold. 

The smothering lines , steam lines leading into the holds, or 
piping for conveying C0 2 gas for the extinguishing of fire. 

The water lines, hoze connections for fire and washing pur¬ 
poses. 

The pumping lines, from tanks and bilges. The rose boxes, 
or strums, or strainers, located at the suction ends of these 
pump lines should be examined whenever the holds are empty 
and just before starting to fill tanks or load cargo. 



A No. 2 hold. Limbers opened for inspection. Ready for cargo. 


Light conduits, the piped wiring for light connections should 
be in good order and guarded against damage or chafing by 
cargo. Too much attention cannot be given the wiring in the 
holds. 

’ Tween decks. The between deck cargo spaces, or passenger 
spaces, are fitted in many ways. Where cargo is carried the 
battens, etc., are similar to those in the holds. The fittings for 
fire fighting, washing, lighting are similar and a part of the hold 
system. Sounding and air pipes pass through the 'tween decks 
into the hold below, and the same care of inspection should be 
followed in the 'tween decks. 






244 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 








Hold divisions found in various types of cargo vessels 


Shifting hoards and special stanchions are used in holds and 
’tween decks. These are temporary bulkheads, usually fore 
and aft, to prevent the shifting of bulk or bag cargoes. 












































































































































HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


245 


“ Soundings are taken at sea periodically, by passing a rod, 
3 or 4 feet long, with cord attached, down the pipe, and on its 
withdrawal noting how much of it has become wet. (The 
sounding rod is usually chalked.—Author.) The pipe usually 
extends to the upper deck, where it terminates with a screwed 
plug; if the upper deck is not sheltered from the weather, it is 
preferable, where cargo is not carried in the ’tween decks, to 
stop it at the second deck, for when deck water is washing about 
it is a difficult matter to keep the rod dry when sounding. When 
on the exposed upper deck, it is well to raise the end of the pipe a 
few inches above the deck, so that deck drainage water may not 
pass down the pipe and wet the rod. When a tank air pipe is at 
the center line it may also serve as a tank-sounding pipe, and 
sometimes sluice valve rods are arranged for this purpose (when 
the valve spindle is a tube). Of course when a tank-sounding 
pipe is extended below the tank top, as is not uncommon, it 
cannot also serve as an air pipe. Every time soundings are taken 
the rod strikes the same patch of cement on the vessel’s bottom, 
so that in the course of time it may break it away. Cases are not 
common where the continued bumping of the sounding rod 
(aided by corrosion) has worn a hole right through the shell 
plating. To prevent this a small iron plate should be embedded 
in the cement just below the pipe, otherwise a plug may be 
screwed into the end of the sounding pipe and slots cut immedi¬ 
ately above it to admit the water .”—Practical Shipbuilding , 
Holms. 

Trunks are built up boxes, usually of timber, in the holds 
and sometimes in the ’tween decks, to raise the center of gravity 
of a bulk cargo. Trunk hatches are hatch openings leading 
from an upper deck to a hold or lower deck through a trunk, 
closing off passenger or other spaces. 

Cargo ports are large side ports into the ’tween decks or holds 
for the loading of cargo. 

Bow and stern ports are sometimes fitted for loading long 
spars. These are most often seen in wooden single hold sailing 
craft. 

II 

Peaks 

The peaks are the narrow compartments at the ends of the 
vessel. The fore peak lies between the stem and the collision 
bulkhead. It is usually divided into two parts horizontally. 
The lower part forms the fore peak tank, and the upper part, 


246 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


between the stem and the chain lockers, or if the chain lockers 
are abaft of the collision bulkhead, then between the stem and 
this bulkhead, is used for the stowage of the forward cargo gear, 
for awnings, and for boatswain’s gear in general. Many vessels 
have this space fitted up as a general deck storeroom for wash- 
deck gear, spare parts, rope, canvas, etc. 

The after peak is between the stern frame and the after peak 
bulkhead. It is generally completely filled by the after peak 
tank, occupying all space above the stern tube to the level of 
the lower deck. 

The peak tanks , fore and aft, are deep tanks and are also the 
principal trimming tanks of the ship. 

Ill 

Tanks 

The tanks, in general, may be divided as follows: 

Double bottom , or cellular double bottom water ballast tanks, 
fitted with manholes, and the necessary pumping arrangements. 


Trimming and Engines and Trimming and 

Deep Tank, BoilersDeepTank X 



H 



w 

m 


Ws 




f 

-pr-- 

''Double Bottom ' 


Deep Tanks ' 



'''Double 

Bottom• 



The double bottom water tanks do not, as a rule, extend beneath 
the engine space but generally cover the floor of the holds.* 

Double Bottoms 

* Vessels are now built with double bottoms for the carriage of water ballast, 
which has become more and more of a necessity to facilitate the handling of 
the ships when light or in motion without cargo. Double bottoms also offer 
great facility for the storage and use of any of the varieties of liquid fuel, 
which frequently are found to be more advantageous, if not more profitable, 
than coal, particularly when the cost of stowing it in the ship’s bunkers and 
the cost of firing it with man power are considered. 

Great Advantages of Double Bottoms 
All liquid fuels are piped direct to the furnaces, fed and sprayed into them 
under pressure which makes the fuel supply and combustion constant and 























HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


247 


The wing tanks , fitted in the wings, often on the ’tween decks 
amidships, offer an easy means for trimming ship to port or 
starboard. 

Deep tanks , placed fore or aft of the engine spaces carry fresh 
water supplies and give stability when needed. 

It is highly important that the officers of a vessel understand 
the capacity and effect of the various tanks, empty and filled 
upon the trim and stability of their vessel, when loaded, partly 
loaded or light, and with bunkers filled or empty. 

In cases of grounding, this knowledge may be of the most 
practical value, if instantly applied. 

The tank vessel is treated in a separate chapter, as it presents 
many special conditions. 

Fresh water tanks. Fresh water should not be carried in deep 
tanks unless the tanks are specially strong so that free water 
may be carried in them. Strong swash plates should be fitted 
in such tanks, as of course fresh water tanks are liable to be 
partly filled at times. Such tanks, when partly filled are referred 
to as ullage tanks. 

Air pipes are fitted to all tanks and should be open when filling 

uniform, thus doing away with all inequalities of steam pressures incident to 
replenishing, slicing, and cleaning of fires when coal is the fuel being utilized. 
It should be here noted that much of the space contained within double 
bottoms exists between the floors of the ship which internally support the 
bottom plates of the vessel, and while this space exists between the ceiling 
of the ship’s hold and the outer plating of the vessel’s bottom absolutely no 
use was ever heretofore made of it except as a receptacle for the accumulation 
of bilge water. In the double bottom, therefore, it will be seen that liquid 
fuel utilizes a space for its storage that was not and could not be utilized for 
any other purpose, since many parts of the internal portion of the double 
bottom are quite inaccessible to the hand or the eye after such portion of the 
ship has been constructed. Previous to the use of the space herein referred 
to for water ballast or the storage of liquid fuel it was customary and neces¬ 
sary to coat all surfaces of such spaces with cement to protect them against 
oxidization incident to their being bathed more or less continually with bilge 
water, invariably impregnated with the impurities common to the drip from 
every known variety of cargoes. It can therefore readily be seen that double 
bottoms not only utilize to a great extent much cubic space of a ship heretofore 
unusable, but in doing so have a tendency to preserve those portions of the 
vessel heretofore most subject to deterioration from oxidization.— Standard¬ 
ization in the Construction of Freight Ships, E. Platt Stratton, Department 
of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 


248 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


to prevent air lock in the tanks. Locate such pipes and see them 
in good order and closed after filling. 

IV 

Bunkers 

The loading of bunker coal is an operation that falls to the 
deck department of a steam vessel, while the trimming is gen¬ 
erally attended to under direction of the engineers. 

The usual bunkers are as follows : 

Cross bunkers , extending athwartship, either fore or aft of 
the boilers, but generally forward. On short passages these are 
sometimes used for the stowage of cargo. 

Side bunkers , adjacent to the machinery space and upwards in 
the wings of the vessel. These bunkers feed down by gravity 
through pocket bunkers , leading from the side bunkers in the 
’tween decks to the fire rooms. 

The reserve bunker is a name given to the cross bunker, 
when it is entirely shut off from the boiler space by a watertight 
bulkhead. 

The filling of bunker spaces is accomplished through small 
coaling hatchways , usually round scuttles, screwing tight to the 
deck and made watertight by means of a gasget. 

On the weather decks the coaling hatchways are larger and 
are usually fitted with a small coaming and the usual means for 
battening down with tarpaulins, battens and wedges. 

Coaling ports are fitted in the sides and this is specially so in 
the case of large liners where the coal is carried in side bunkers 
and huge cross bunkers running the width of the vessel between 
the boiler rooms and under the passenger decks. Great care 
must be exercised in the closing of the coaling ports at all times 
when not actually in use. The sinking of the S.S. St. Paul , due 
to this neglect, is still fresh in mind. 

The small holes in the wings of the bunkers for the admission 
of trimmers, and for their exit, are generally known as escape 
holes. These holes are sometimes used for loading when the 
last coal is taken into the ship. 

Oil fuel bunkers. The following excellent description of oil 
fuel bunkers is taken from Holms’ Practical Shipbuilding. 


HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


249 


“ The use of crude petroleum as fuel, i.e. } as a substitute for 
coal in the furnaces of seagoing steamers, although far from 
general, is now common in the case of vessels carrying bulk oil, 
and in those trading to ports where oil is produced. In raising 
steam, two tons of oil may be taken, roughly, as equivalent to 
three tons of coal. It follows, therefore, that in vessels which 
burn oil fuel there is a considerable saving in weight; and there 
is also a saving in space, for the oil, if high-flash may be carried 
in the double bottom and peak tanks, spaces that are valueless 
for cargo. (The flash point of an oil is the temperature at which 
its vapor will ignite and explode. The flash point of a high-flash 
oil is above 150 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, the 
flash point of gasolene is below the freezing point, that is, it will 
explode—when air is present, and a spark comes across it—at 
any ordinary temperature.) Ordinary coal bunkers are un¬ 
necessary, but many vessels are arranged to use coal as well as 
oil (in case the latter might be temporarily unobtainable), it is 
common to retain the coal bunkers, but to design and build them 
in the manner required for an oil tank (z.e., with oil-tight hatches, 
doors, wash bulkheads, pump suctions, heating coils, and air 
pipes), so that either coal or oil may be carried as required. 
Some vessels which trade regularly to Eastern oil ports, where 
the oil is cheap, fill their fuel-oil tanks with sufficient oil to take 
them home to Europe and out again. Compared with coaling 
operations, the filling of the oil-fuel bunkers is a very quick and 
simple operation, requiring no manual labor and creating no 
disturbance on board. 

“ Any kind of oil may be used as fuel, but the great majority 
of vessels employ only high flash-point oil, on account of the ab¬ 
sence of danger in using it and the simplicity of its stowage. . . . 

“ When the double bottom tanks are used for carrying oil the 
vertical keel must be oil-tight, to lessen the heeling effect of the 
oil when the tanks are only half full. The tanks must also be of 
moderate length, and be specially constructed to insure absolute 
oil-tightness.” 

Note: Tanks and bulkheads that are watertight are not 
necessarily oil-tight. Special care in riveting and caulking is 
necessary to insure oil-tight seams and joints. 

“ When the sides of the oil tanks are at any point close to the 


250 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


boilers they must be insulated to avoid any chance of the oil 
becoming dangerously heated. Each oil tank must be provided 
with one or more air pipes having permanently open ends de¬ 
bouching above the upper deck, so as to prevent the possibility 
of the tank bursting or collapsing by expansion of the oil through 
heat, or by careless pumping. (In tanks which may be pumped 
up the air pipes should be as large as the filling pipes to prevent 
the accumulation of excessive pressure by continued pumping 
after the tank has been filled.) 

“ The pipes and valves used for pumping the oil tanks must be 
distinct from those used for pumping the bilges, or pumping and 
flooding the water ballast tanks, otherwise oily water might gain 
access to the latter places, with danger of explosion through 
unsuspected accumulation of oil vapor. 

“ When fuel oil is taken on board it usually contains some 
water, which must be removed before the oil is sprayed into the 
furnaces. For this purpose settling tanks are provided, usually 
to port and starboard, in the ’tween decks. All fuel oil taken 
from the supply tanks is first pumped into a settling tank, at the 
bottom of which the contained water accumulates by gravity 
and may be drained off.” 

To sum up, the use of oil fuel has the following advantages 
where it can be readily employed: 

Oil requires less bunker space than coal for a given steaming 
radius. 

It can be carried between double bottoms and in other places 
where neither coal nor cargo can be stored. 

The space usually given to coal can be occupied by freight 
paying cargo. 

Bunkering can be effected with greater dispatch, and is not 
interfered with by darkness or the state of the weather. 

It is not attendant with dirt and other discomforts incident to 
coal bunkering. 

Labor and machinery are not required for handling ashes. 

Oil fuel eliminates stoking, thus reducing the size of the crew 
and labor costs. 

It possesses greater thermal efficiency than coal and reduces 
fuel costs. 

The modern seaman will be more and more concerned with 


HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


251 


the stowage of oil, in the oil burners under steam boilers, and 
in the bunkers of motor ships. Many things are yet to be 
learned about oil carriage as fuel and cargo. See Chapt. 11 on 
Tankers. 

Bulkheads. A few words may be said about bulkheads. 
Many vessels have met with disaster through faulty bulkheads. 
Sluice gates have been left open, watertight doors have not 
functioned when needed, or have been left open in time of 
collision. No sluice valve or cock is to be fitted in a collision 
bulkhead. All such valves and cocks are to be worked by control 
rods leading up to the bulkhead deck and should indicate whether 
the valves are open or closed. Every officer in the ship should be 
familiar with their location and working. 

In closing this chapter, the writer wishes to remind the reader 
that apparent repetitions here and there are made with the 
purpose of driving home essential facts regarding the working 
of the vessel. No one is expected to read the seamanship at 
one sitting, and no one will fail to see the need for warnings 
and advice given under different headings. Holds, peaks and 
tanks are so important that this special chapter was considered 
necessary. 

Sluice valves are 
no longer looked 
upon with favor as 
they reduce the reli¬ 
ability of the bulk¬ 
heads as watertight 
partitions. 

The Pneumercator 
Gauge 

This is a very in¬ 
genious application 
of the pressure in a 
tank, or under the 
ship to measure the liquid in the tank or the draft of the vessel. 
The pressure of liquid is measured by means of an air chamber 
as shown in the diagram. The higher the liquid above the bal¬ 
ance chamber (air chamber) the greater the air pressure. That 
























252 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



-.--issaas(BVl) 111 .,1 1 



is, the air pressure and the 
liquid pressure must be the 
same. This air pressure is 
communicated to a column 
of mercury and as the 
pressure increases, or de¬ 
creases, the mercury is 
forced up, or is allowed to 
fall lower in the gauge. 
The gauge is calibrated so 
that the height of mercury 
will show the height of 
liquid in the tank. The 
gauge is calibrated for wa¬ 
ter, or oil, or whatever 
may be the density of the 
| liquid to be measured. 

| Although made in many 
^ types to meet varied re¬ 
's quirements, all Pneumer- 
o' cator gauges have the same 
•2 essential elements, which 
2 are (1) balance chamber, 
^ (2) a mercury or other 

gauge, calibrated in feet 
and inches and in the cor¬ 
responding weight or vol¬ 
ume, (3) a pump or other 
means of furnishing com¬ 
pressed air, (4) a control 
valve or valves connected 
to the gauge and also con¬ 
nected through small piping 
to the balance chamber 
and the air pump. 

When installed in a tank 
the orifice in the balance 
chamber is located at a 
predetermined point below 















HOLDS, PEAKS, TANKS 


253 


the surface of the liquid to be measured. This type of gauge 
works equally well on tanks at atmosphere or under pressure 
or vacuum. 

In the type of instrument used to indicate the draft and trim of a 
vessel, the balance chambers, connected by one-inch sea valves, 
are located at predetermined points 
forward and aft below the light 
draft line of the ship, and also 
connected by one-quarter-inch cop¬ 
per tubing to the instrument lo¬ 
cated in the pilot house or captain’s 
office. Thus installed, the Pneu- 
mercator draft gauge indicates the 
fore and aft draft, registers the 
mean draft and corresponding tons 
displaced, shows trim, checks in¬ 
voices and deliveries, weighs car¬ 
goes and bunkers. 

The scales are calibrated in ac¬ 
cordance with the requirements of 
the service, the reading is direct 
and instantaneous in every case, Pneumercator draft and displace - 
requiring no special skill. ment scale ‘ 

{Note: The air in the balance chamber must be constant in 
volume in order to obtain correct readings on the mercury gauge. 
A few strokes of a small hand pump will restore the correct bal¬ 
ance, or, where compressed air is used, a turn of the air cock will 
do the same thing. If too much air is forced into the chamber it 
bubbles out through the bottom, no harm is done.) Read gauge, 
pump or turn on air (it only takes a fraction of a minute) and read 
gauge again. The second reading is the correct one. The draft 
gauge is useful, when loading or discharging. At sea the draft 
can be read to a fraction of an inch when it is impossible to get 
the draft by reading the numerals on bow and stern. In case 
of collision the scale will show whether the vessel is settling, or 
not. If she starts down, even a small fraction of an inch, the 
warning is most important. On the other hand the draft gauge 
will show when the pumps start to gain on a leak, or if they fail 
to do so. 




































254 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 









































































































































CHAPTER 9 


STOWAGE 

I 

Foreword 

Stowage in the modern cargo vessel is becoming of greater 
importance as the size of holds increases and the variety of cargo 
continues to become more and more diversified. Where in the 
old days a vessel stowed a few thousand tons, now more than 
that is carried in a single hold. Many writers set down nice 
little rules for the stowage of cargo, but the practical sea officer 
knows that such rules are hard to follow. Stowage is a continual 
compromise between the filling in of deadweight and measure¬ 
ment cargo. The following item from a shipping paper illustrates 
the point: 

« After being detained at Boston two weeks waiting for fuel 
oil, the steamer West Togua has left for the Pacific Coast with a 
very large cargo. She will call at Philadelphia for more fuel 
oil and, if the dock laborer’s strike is settled, will take on 1,500 
tons of steel. From Boston she carries paper, shoes, dry goods, 
soap, drugs, machinery and confectionery.” 

Here was a problem in stowage for the Chief Mate, to get 
in the 1,500 tons of steel, somewhere in the ’tween decks under 
the measurement cargo. 

Such problems are always happening. Sometimes the com¬ 
plications pile on each other to the point of distraction, especially 
where a vessel is to discharge at a number of different ports and 
the question of trim and stability after each unloading comes 

into play.* . . 

Every modern vessel should carry a capacity sheet containing 

the following information: (See opposite page). 

Capacities of cargo spaces 
Dimensions of cargo spaces 

* (See page 717.) 


255 


256 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Capacities of bunker spaces 
Dimensions of bunker spaces 
Capacities of trimming tanks 
Size of hatches 
Capacities of booms 

Plan showing location of holds, tanks and hatches 

Tons per inch scale, 


Top of Upper^ 
Deck Plating & 


fO B ~D 


FW IS 


WNA 


20 


S500 


5000 


25 


24 


31.5 


23 


31.3 


U'-llj 


4500 


1-21 


4000 


22 


31.0 


Load Line 


50.8 


20 


30.5 


30.2 


3500 


r 18 


r 17 


3000 


2500 


r 15 


2000 


r 14 


1500 


1000 


500 r 9 


30.0 


29.8 


ie 


29.5 


29.2 


showing the freeboard, 
displacement, deadweight 
and draft in their true 
relation and the number 
of tons of displacement 
per inch of draft. 

A displacement curve 
is also given in the set 
of blue prints supplied 
the ship. (See page 22.) 

In old vessels not sup¬ 
plied with this informa¬ 
tion the Chief Mate 
should collect as much of 
the data as possible, 
measuring holds and 
hatches to satisfy him¬ 
self. 

When cargo is taken 
for a vessel the freight 
and traffic department 
ashore, in a well-organ¬ 
ized concern, see to it 
that cargo assigned to the 
ship is suitable, dead 
weight and measurement 
Tons per inch scale. Note A.B.S.load line so proportioned, if possi- 
marking. ble, that the best stow¬ 

age can be made. 

Where cargo diagrams are prepared, and this should be done 
where mixed cargoes are carried, these diagrams should be kept 
for reference from voyage to voyage in a cargo book. Carefully 


r 12 


10 




28.7 


28.3 


28.1 


27.8 


r Lower Edge of 
' Buftstrap on Keel 
Plate 


t 7 


27.5 


27.1 


26.6 






































































STOWAGE 


257 


prepared diagrams are of the utmost importance in settling 
claims for damage due to faulty stowage, pilfering, and the like. 

II 

Preparing for Stowage 

This duty falls to the ship and is one of the most important to 
be attended to after discharging. Holds and ’tween decks 
should be swept clean. If it is necessary to wash down the 
’tween decks and hold use fresh water if this is available. 

Lift limber boards and clean out 
the limbers, see that the rose boxes 
(the strums or strainers over the 
bilge suction pipes) are clean and 
clear. 

See that all battens and tank 
top covers are in good order. 

See that all piping, sounding 
pipes, smothering lines, fire and 
water lines through the hold are 
in good order. 

See that all wiring is in good 
order, pipe or armored conduits 
are not chafed or bent. 

See that all ports are tight, 
deadlights screwed down and that 
all side ports are secure. 

Make careful examination of 
the under side of the weather deck, 
under winch beds, around mast 
and king post wedges. Examine 
well for leaks. Look after venti¬ 
lators for leakage. 

See that all hold ladders are in good order. Look after all 
strong backs, fore and afters, and hatch covers to be certain 
that these fittings are in shape for closing hatches. 

Look after the hatch tarpaulins, two or three at each hatch as 
required. See that the tarpaulins fit, or are properly marked, 
and are not torn or cracked. 

See that the battens and wedges are handy. 



Always have your cargo lights 
and cables , in good order. A } 
Ring for the lanyard to carry 
weight of the reflector. 2?, Guy 
rings to point reflector. C, Con¬ 
nection for cable. Do not hang 
the light by the cable. 
















258 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Dunnage .* The modern steamer is so designed that dunnage, 
except for chocking and filling between battens (when necessary) 
is largely dispensed with. The old rule “ ten inches of dunnage 
on the floor and fifteen in the bilge ” is a dead letter. 

Rough spruce planking is usually employed, and this is used 
where needed; baled goods, liable to damage through sweat are 
protected with a layer of planking over the steel decks and 
against the steel framing of the ship. 

Dunnage is also used in flooring off between different kinds 
of cargo where contact would result in damage. No hard and 
fast rule can be given as to the amount of dunnage needed for 
any ship, but each cargo is a rule unto itself in this respect. 
Good stowage calls for sufficient dunnage to prevent damage by 
contact or leakage, and enough chocking pieces to prevent the 
working or shifting of cargo when in a seaway. 

Dunnage should be laid as directed by the Mate, when the 
nature of the stowage is known. It is well to sweep off dunnage 
wood and pile it in the wings of the ’tween decks and on the hold 
stringers so it will be handy when the time comes for its use. 

Chocking pieces usually consist of rough cord wood of handy 
size useful as quoins under the quarters of casks, etc. 

Certain kinds of cargo lend themselves to chocking purposes 
and may be used when it will not result in damage. Heavy 
machinery is often wedged and lashed in the holds and then 
further secured by close stowage of baled hay. This is a very 
satisfactory combination. Of course, cotton, or other baled stuff 
may also be used, care being taken to protect it from damage by 
oil or grease. 

* Whether the ship owner, in a lump sum charter, should deduct the 
dunnage from the carrying capacity of the ship, or include it in the tonnage 
carried, was again under discussion in the King’s Court in London. The 
case at point was that of the steamship “ Ben Lodi,” which was fixed at a 
lump sum, “ owner’s Guarantee to place 5,600 tons deadweight carrying 
capacity and 300,000 bale space, as per builders’ plan, at disposal of charterers, 
and it was provided that, “ if the deadweight, or bale space placed at charterers’ 
disposal be less than the above, then the lump sum is to be reduced pro rata.” 
The charterers loaded a general cargo, which required thirty-two tons of 
dunnage, and the point in dispute was whether the charters were entitled 
to the deduction of those thirty-two tons. 

Justice Atkin held that when the owner placed a ship at the disposal of 
the charterer, having a carrying capacity of 5,600 tons, he had satisfied his 
contract, and gave judgment for the shipowner. 


STOWAGE 


259 


Cargo should always be stowed so it will not move or chafe 
with the rolling of the vessel. 

Before starting stowage. Know the condition of tanks, 
usually filled, as ballast. 



Locomotives stowed in a lower hold , blocked off with compressed hay in 
bales. In addition to this they are also lashed and wedged securely on 
their beds. 


Know the state of the bunkers. Where a vessel must bunker, 
after loading , this extra weight of fuel must be considered when 
bringing her down to her load marks. 

The trimming tanks may be emptied as the vessel takes on her 
cargo. Special care must be taken to see these tanks completely 
free of water, also of mud. A few inches of water will make a 
difference of 100 tons in ajarge ship's cargo capacity. 





260 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Depth of water . Make certain of the depth of water in the 
loading berth, forward and aft. This is most important. Be sure 
to get the depth at low tide. Make certain whether you are in a 
clear or a foul berth. A clear berth is one where there is no 
obstruction, rocks, etc. on the bottom. When you come into a 
new berth with a larger vessel than has used it before be most 
careful. If the ends are free, there may be too little water 
amidship, careful soundings should be made with a ship’s boat at 
low tide before going into the berth. 

It is very dangerous to continue loading a vessel that is 
aground. 

The writer remembers a certain ship taking bunker coal at 
St. Lucia. When her bunkers were filled she would not budge, 
she was fast in the mud. The lack of care on the part of some 
one cost that vessel several thousand dollars, at a time when a 
chief mate had to work two years to earn , what his lack of fore¬ 
sight cost the ship within an hour. And, by the way, a master 
or chief mate who is constantly on the job will save his salary 
many times over on almost every voyage. At present the master 
is so underpaid with respect to his responsibilities that this point 
may well be considered by wide-awake ship operators. 

Hatches. The hatches of vessels differ, and in every ship, 
unless perfectly designed, certain hatches will be slow hatches , 
that is, all things being equal, these hatches will be the last to 
load or discharge. These factors should be taken into account 
when loading. 

The reserve bunker or tank hatches are usually slow. In 
these spaces, when cargo is to be carried, stow things liable to 
do damage, but do not stow cargo liable to damage from the heat 
of bunkers or fire room. 

Ill 

Order of Stowage 

In deep holds, only heavy and securely boxed or crated cargo 
should be placed below for the weight of stowage on top will 
cause considerable damage unless this is attended to. 

Stowage generally takes the following course: 

Lower holds— 


STOWAGE 


261 


Heavy weights, stout packages, deadweight cargo. Fol¬ 
lowed by measurement to lower ’tween deck beams, using 
small cases for beam filler if possible. 

Lower ’tween decks— 

Heavy stuff, steel rails, billets, etc., casks, cases, and 
measurement. 

Upper ’tween decks— 

Some heavy stuff to carry up the weights, and mostly 
measurement cargo. 

The order of stowage depends, largely upon the order of dis¬ 
charging. Consignments for any single port should be kept as 
close together as possible. 

So many factors enter into the practical work of stowage that 
only general principles can be given. Never allow drafts of 
cargo to bang against the side when loading. Heavy slings of 
cargo will batter in the shell plating abreast of the hatch ways. 

Scales of Permissible Loading and Ballasting 

Holds and ’tween decks should be marked with their safe 
stowage weights for full cargo loading. A scale of such safe 
loading weights should be given the vessel by her designers with 
the approval of the classification society. The correct proportion 
of cargo weights for ore, coal, sugar, and general cargo could 
easily be determined, using certain “ type ” cargoes. 

With such a scale should be given the minimum ballast re¬ 
quirements of the vessel when flying light. 

Most sailing craft carry a certain weight of kentledge per¬ 
manent pig iron ballast. This is not taken out when stowing 
cargo. 

IV 

Railway Iron 

li Stow fore and aft until level with the keelson, then ‘ grating 
fashion,’ keeping the rails well apart so that the weight will be 
raised to make the ship easy in a seaway.” 

The above ancient instruction keeps finding its way into the 
newer books, one man copies from another and it is even now 
the standard answer to the ancient question. 11 How would you 
stow a cargo of railroad iron? ” 



262 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Both sides of the keelson ” are now filled with tanks, and 
the floor is flat. 

Stow railroad iron (rails) and other steel, as close as possible. 
Chock it against shifting and place dunnage between tiers for 
greater ease in passing the chain slings in hoisting out. In 
loading a deadweight cargo of steel put one third in the ’tween 
decks, of number 2 and number 4 holds. 

This cargo is generally best stowed fore and aft. 

V 

Steel Billets 

Steel billets are often stowed in the ’tween decks to bring 
up the weight. Such billets weighing from 450 lbs. to 600 lbs. 
are often thoroughly magnetized due to handling with an electric 
magnet, and may be a very disturbing factor in the performance 
of the compass when stowed in the hatch just forward of the 
bridge. It is worth while looking after this point. In discharg¬ 
ing billets sling with a sound chain sling, three in a draft. 

Steel plates are handled by means of screw clamps and slings. 
Use great care in slinging. 


Weight of Steel Plates per Square Foot 


- 

In. 

In. 

In. 

In. 

In. 

In. 

In. 

In. 

! In. 

Thick. 

Pounds. 

-h 

2.55 

£ 

5.10 

T6 

7.65 : 

i 

10.2 

A 

12.8 

1 

8 

15.3 

Te 

17.9 

I 

2o!o4 

1 

40.08 


To calculate the weight of angle-bars take the sum of the flanges, and 
treat as a plate. 


VI 

Sugar 

Sugar cargoes, as taken in the Hawaiian Islands, are carried 
in gunny bags, weighing in the neighborhood of 150 lbs. It is a 
clean cargo, readily stowed, and weights should be carried up 
into the ’tween decks, as the vessel will be down to her marks 
before she is filled. Cuban and Porto Rican sugar is handled 
the same way. 

In dunnaging be careful to keep clear of all steel work, and 
arrange for ventilation in the holds as the cargo is usually warm 


















STOWAGE 


263 



and in coming into cool weather the deck beams will sweat and 
drip onto the bags; though no real damage results from this, 
it is as well to avoid it. 

In loading from lighters be careful not to receive cargo that 
has been wet with salt water. This can usually be ascertained 
by opening a suspicious bag and tasting the sugar. 


Loading bag grain. Hides on wharf to go into tank hatch. 

The sugar is only partly refined and is taken to Atlantic Coast 
ports to the refineries. 

Much of the loading and unloading is now done by conveyor. 
When loading, long hard wood chutes are employed and the 
bags are slid to every part of the hold and ’tween decks. 

VII 

Hides 

Confine hides to a single hold if possible. Dunnage well 
against contact with steel or other cargo. Best to carry these in 
the tank hatch, if other perishable cargo is carried. 









264 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


VIII 

Jute 

Jute cargoes are carried from East Indian ports and require 
special care in handling. Cases of spontaneous combustion have 
been noted and the sweating of hold beams and exposed metal 
parts is very pronounced. The following recommendations 
have been made with regard to the stowage of this cargo. 

1. That there shall be at least six ventilators of not less than 
18 inches diameter, elevated 7 to 8 feet above the main deck, 
continued by Venetian shafts through the ’tween decks into the 
hold, with an air space under both decks of not less than 3 inches 
—fore and aft the vessel—these ventilators being placed at equal 
distances between the fore and aft hatches. 

2. That two strong ventilators, 
about 3 feet high and 15 inches 
diameter, be fitted with screw cov¬ 
ers in the main hatch. 

3. That one of each of the 
hatches is to be kept open during 
the voyage, when the weather 
permits. 

4. That the hatches are not to be 
filled close up with jute, but an air 
space left all round the coamings. 

5. That the spaces between the 
vessel’s frames adjoining the lower 
deck are to be kept open, to allow 
the steam to ascend from the 
lower hold. 

6. That the ventilators are to be carefully attended to at sea. 
Also, 

1. That the old plan of sweat boards, formerly fitted under the 
stringer plates of the upper deck, would be very beneficial to a 
jute cargo, by carrying off much of the condensed sweat, also 
forming an air space where most required. 

2. That matting round the sides be discontinued, as mats get 
saturated and retain the sweat; dry sticks or permanent dunnage 
being preferable, allowing it to escape. 



Ventilator cowls. Should have 
wire mesh fire screens fitted in 
the necks. Screens must be kept 
clean. 











STOWAGE 


265 


3. That no bone meal or broken stowage be carried with jute 
cargoes. 

Bales average 300 lbs., and 400 lbs. should be the limit. 
Damp bales should be rejected. 

Jute bags and waste are pressed in bales 15 lbs. to the cubic 
foot, and 149 cubic feet to the long ton. 

Bales are generally stowed flat, amidship, marks and numbers 
up and on the edge in the wings, marks and numbers inboard. 

IX 

Silk 

Silk will be in bales or packed in cases. Silk should be stowed 
with great care as to dryness, and away from all drip or offensive 
odors. 

Tea 

Japanese waste silk (the combings after the silk is drawn) 
emit an odor very injurious to tea. 

Tea must be carefully stowed, holds specially cleaned, bilges 
free and clean, sweetening them with lime water. It is often 
desirable to coat the iron work in the holds with a cement wash 
and then whitewash the holds, where tea is being carried. 

Tea shipped from Canton or Macao is packed in cases measur¬ 
ing two to three cubic feet and weighing between fifteen and 
twenty pounds net. 

Tobacco 

Manufactured tobacco and cigars should be kept free from 
odors and moisture. Bales of leaf tobacco will heat and may 
cause spontaneous combustion. Tobacco is shipped in hogs¬ 
heads, tierces, or bales. Use ample dunnage. 

X 

Cotton 

Cotton is pressed in bales running from 480 to 500 lbs., the 
latter figure in the case of cotton waste. Oil, turpentine, and 
grease should be kept away from cotton. All bales should be 
watched when stowing j this is best done on the dock and no 
bales showing signs of wet should be accepted, or if acceptance 





266 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


is insisted upon a remark as to their condition should be made 
on the bill of lading and signed by the shipper or his agent and 
the master. This should be done with all damaged cargo. 

All naked lights should be kept out of the hold—“ no smoking ” 
enforced, and all ventilator cowls should be watched where 
same are liable to be in the wake of sparks from the vessel’s 
funnel, or from the funnel of tugboats, etc. Use fire screens in 
all ventilators. 

The fire risk is great and every precaution should be taken 
when carrying a cargo of cotton. 

Cotton bales swell or “ spring ” some in handling and this 
should be taken into consideration when estimating stowage. 
Extra dense bales stow 80 cubic feet to the ton, while the ordinary 
bale will stow 130 cubic feet to the ton before springing. This 
enlargement of the bales may amount to ten per cent. Cotton 
is no longer screened into holds. 

n - 

XI 

Wool 

Wool is shipped in bales of various sizes depending upon the 
part of the world in which the cargo is shipped. Before begin¬ 
ning stowage get full particulars from the local people. Roughly, 
if engaging a cargo of wool by cable, figure 200 cubic feet to the 
ton. The “ screwing ” of wool and cotton cargoes is no longer 
practiced as the bales are sufficiently compressed to make 
this practice unnecessary. 

XII 

Casks* 

The time-honored formula, “ bung up and bilge free ” sums 
up the whole of cask stowage. When casks are supported by 
beds under their quarters, and the second tier stowed in the 
cuntlines of the lower tier, ends wedged off in the wings, little 
damage will follow with sound casks. 

* To calculate the capacity of a cask, multiply half the sum of the areas 
of the two interior circles, viz.: at the bung and head by the interior length, 
for the contents in cubic inches, which sum, divided by 277.27 (the number 
of cubic inches in a gallon), reduces the result to that measure. 


STOWAGE 


267 


A dirty cask covered with grease or tar is often found. The 
bung will be hidden but this is always in a line with the rivets 
on the hoops, and the heads of the casks 
run up and down when the bung is on 
top. 

The staves of a cask projecting beyond 
the heads form a ridge called the chimes. 

When the chimes are broken the cask 
should be sent to the cooper for repairs 
before stowing. A cooper should always 
be at hand when taking on a cargo of casks. 

Be careful not to get the bung down. 

Casks are usually stowed fore and aft, 
working out to the wings from the keelson 
and fore ward and aft from amidships. 

Care should be taken that the casks are cask stowage 

also “ bilge free ” at the side. Nothing 

should be touching but the quarters. Stow “bilge and cuntline.” 

Hogsheads contain 63 gallons 
Puncheons “ 84 “ 

Pipes u 126 “ 

Hogsheads may be stowed to six tiers, puncheons to four 
tiers, and pipes, or buts to three tiers. 

When casks are stowed with heads pointing to the wings they 
are said to be “ a burton.” 

A great deal of loss will be avoided by careful attention to the 
stowage and slinging of casks. The writer has a vivid recollec¬ 
tion of a huge puncheon of stuffed Spanish olives slipping from a 
sling when well up above the hatch on a vessel discharging in 
San Francisco. Hundreds of stevedores filled their pockets with 
olives and the thirst raised in consequence was simply con¬ 
suming. 

Asphalt 

Holds are smeared with mud before loading, on the same 
principle that pans are greased before baking. The cargo con¬ 
solidates on the voyage north, and is then dug out. Of course 
all holds are lined, the mud prevents the cargo from adhering 
to the lining. 





268 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


* 


XIII 

Lumber 

Lumber in moderate lengths and sizes will stow through deck 
hatches, but where heavy baulks of timber, running forty feet 
or more and twelve to fourteen inches square, are to be shipped, 
bow ports may have to be employed, or, if the hatches permit, 
the stuff has to be lowered and dragged into the holds one piece 
at a time and stowed by hand, with pinch bars and jiggers. 

In taking on a cargo of lumber the Master will do well to see the 
exact sizes and assure himself of proper stowage. Schooners in 
this trade, working their long sticks in and out through the bow 
ports, using a tackle from the end of the bowsprit, are best 
fitted for the carriage of large sizes. 

As a straight lumber cargo will not send a vessel down to her 
marks, from fifteen to twenty-five per cent, of this cargo is often 
carried on deck. Usually the deck load is not covered by 
insurance. 

The greatest care should be exercised in properly securing 
the deck load when carried, due regard being given to the season 
of the year and the trade. A clear space should be preserved 
between the bulwarks and the bulwark stanchions for the 
passage of water. Also see that all freeing ports are working 
clear. Great care should be taken that the uprights are secure 
and that none of the pipe lines or wheel chains are in danger of 
being rendered useless by shifting of the deck load. The pre¬ 
cautions are strictly up to the officers of the vessel. 

All chains should be shackled to the deck eye bolts before the 
lower tier of timbers is placed. The deck lashings should be so 
passed that extra trapping turns can be taken, swiftering in the 
lashing if need be to hold down the load if it works loose. 

No specific rules can be given as vessels differ so, but in 
securing the deck load make no mistake in regard to safety. 
When it starts to go it will be too late. 

The use of wedges is doubtful on a deck cargo. 

Long timbers are the safest for deck stowage. 

Keep steam winches clear. 

Keep hatch covers clear so you can get at wedges. 

Don't trust the stevedores with the lashings; they will not be 
out to sea with you when the ball begins. 


STOWAGE 


269 


Mahogany logs are irregular and generally of large size. 
Being a very dense wood, it is well to rig special gear. Most of 
the trade in mahogany logs is from Central America, Mexico, the 
West Coast of Africa. Some come from Cuba. A few winters 
ago the writer watched two French barks discharging cargoes of 
African mahogany in Pensacola. Some of the logs running as 
high as ten tons. The loading of this cargo is difficult, usually 
by ship’s gear alone and in open roadsteads. This sort of cargo 
calls for seamanship of a high order. 

XIV 

General Cargo 

This may include anything, and as the term implies is a general 
assortment of cargo, weight and measurement. When such 
cargo is well assorted the vessel will be able to earn her maxi¬ 
mum freight money, filling 
every space and going down to 
her load marks with ballast 
tanks empty and bunkers full. 

Rules for loading are based 
upon common sense. Each 
cargo will require different 
handling, each port will bring 
its own problems. As shown 
at the beginning of the chap- 
rte, the method of stowage 
will often be subject to condi¬ 
tions upsetting all fixed rules. 

The following general idea should be kept in mind. 

Keep accurate diagrams of mixed stowage to be discharged 
at several ports. 

Keep a balance between weight and measurement stuff. 

Weights down in holds, light stowage up. Heavy stowage in 
’tween decks, for a tier or two. Cargo giving off odors to be 
kept separate. Cargo to be protected from wet. Cargo to be 
ventilated. Keep a sharp lookout for pilfering. Look out for 
loose stowage. Stevedores say a vessel is “ blown up ” when 
they manage to “get away” with this sort of stowage. 



Case Goods makes good beam and 
hatch filler 











Mo. 4 No.3 Deep No.2 Mo.l 

Hatch Hatch Tank Hatch Hatch 


270 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Cargo Diagrams 

Cargo diagrams are of¬ 
ten of great use when a 
vessel is to discharge at 
two or more ports, or where 
she carries a general cargo 
and it may become neces¬ 
sary to jettison, or break 
out cargo for any other rea¬ 
son. And, by the way, it is 
a good plan to always throw 
+- overboard the least valu- 

u c 

.$? able cargo, taking it by 
o § weight, if there is any 
% -fc choice, when the necessity 
v) o for jettisoning cargo arises. 
E t? Here the cargo diagram 
£ £ may be very useful. 

O) Q 

.5 The diagram shown here 
Jr is the usual fore and aft 
section, somewhat exag- 
u£ gerated as to depth. Of 
course any cargo diagram 
is worthless unless pre¬ 
pared carefully and from 
actual knowledge of the 
§ stowage . The officer in 
j ■ 3 charge of the hold should 
J prepare this diagram him- 
| if self. Where goods liable 
ji J to pilferage are “ blocked 
, off ” by less tempting cargo, 

^ vr» the diagram shows when 
and where to be extra 
careful while discharging. 
The writer recalls a cargo of 
Canadian Club whisky (!) 

The 

extra precautions when 


blocked off in the number two lower ’tween decks. 
“ stevies ” in Frisco wondered at the 
















































STOWAGE 


271 



they began to “ break out ” the cases of wooden ware in front 
of the whisky.* 

An elaborate cargo diagram is used by some in which the 
hold and ’tween deck is shown in sections all lettered, and the 
plan is shown in squares, each 
one given a number. Cargo 
is accurately placed by hold 
number and by letter and 
number on the stowage dia¬ 
gram. This seems to be a 
bit too “ scientific ” for the 
average seagoing mate. 

Talleying is often neces¬ 
sary. A small hand counter 

is very useful on board ship both for cargo talleying as well as 
for checking on board stores, etc. 

In China the talley stick is still in use. When discharging 
flour, as shown in the photograph, the Chinaman touched each 


A hand counter. 



Passing talley sticks. 


* The agent sent down a few bottles with his compliments after talleying 
the whole lot ashore without loss, 
io 













272 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


bag with a stick as he handed it to the young man with the golf 
cap (the supercargo). The chinaman is very honest but he 
thinks it a good joke if he can avoid passing over his stick as a 
bag slides past him. When loading he very often is absent- 
minded and hands over two thin bamboo sticks at once. 

Before concluding his remarks on General Cargo, the writer 
wishes to say a word about Department of Commerce publica¬ 
tion. Miscellaneous Series, 92, “ Stowage of Ship Cargoes,” 
by Thomas Rothwell Taylor.* This book of three hundred and 
fifty pages is filled with valuable data. Stowage factors— 
regulations—and general information. Ship’s officers and 
stevedores should have it handy at all times. Sailors may find 
some fault with Mr. Taylor’s rather musty-looking splices 
(hooks without thimbles, etc.) but we can easily forgive him this 
as long as we have Standard Seamanship at hand to show us 
the shipshape way to do these things. The Department of 
Commerce is to be distinctly congratulated on the production 
of this work. Let us hope the Department will be more than 
thankful to Mr. Taylor. 

XV 

Dangerous Cargo 

Dangerous cargo includes explosives, shipped under strict 
government supervision in magazines. When shipping ex¬ 
plosives ascertain their exact nature before taking on board and 
get full directions for stowage. 

In a general way, if taking on explosives abroad without direct 
supervision, the following points should be observed: 

Nature of cargo. 

Keep away from fire; there must be a compartment with steel 
bulkheads between stowage and the engine room or fire room. 

Bank furnace fire before starting to ship. See that no sparks 
are coming from the vessel’s or any other funnel. 

See that hoisting gear is new—use new manila nets, place 
wooden skids on deck for landing. Have reliable men at hatch 
and winches and in the magazine. 

Lower drafts easily. Do not allow boxes to be dropped. 
Avoid all hurry. 

* Price 35 cents, from Supt. of Documents, Government Printing Office, 
Washington, D. C. 


STOWAGE 


273 


No smoking. 

Take special care against all fire risks. Do not permit sky¬ 
larking of any kind. Be careful of tally. 

Acids. Acids, through danger of leakage because of broken 
carboys, are the most uncertain of cargo. Sulphuric acid forms 
the bulk of this sort of cargo, which also includes hydrochloric, 
hydrocyanic, nitric, etc. The milder acids, citric, acetic, etc., 
are not so dangerous. 

Where carboys are cased, the bottles are usually packed in 
whiting or chalk upon which the acid expends itself in the event 
of leakage. When shipped in carboys without chalk, this 
material should be used liberally in stowage. A hundred tons 
of sulphuric acid blocked off in the ’tween decks, should be 
bedded in at least ten tons of chalk. Of course all other cargo 
liable to damage would have to be protected, a very difficult 
thing to do. This cargo should be well ventilated to carry off 
all fumes. 

Do not allow men to pick up leaking acid cases with their bare 
hands. 

Acids are usually carried on deck where they are securely 
lashed and can be thrown overboard when damaged. Such 
cargo is taken on deck “ at shipper’s risk and expense.” 

Where sulphuric acid is shipped in steel drums, they may be 
carried under hatches if bedded in coal of sufficient amount to 
take up any acid that may leak out. A foot of coal at least must 
be bedded for each hundred pounds carried in the largest drum. 
This is a very safe way of carrying acid. 

Nitrate of Soda. This is not combustible unless in contact 
with carbon or wood. The bags in which it is shipped offer a 
certain amount of carbon for the support of combustion. 

To extinguish nitrate fires a mixture of nitrate and water is 
employed. This is the aqua viega of the West Coast. 

At Iquiqui nitrate bags run 200 lbs. each and are taken on 
board six bags to a sling. 

The following memoranda are taken from the instructions 
relating to dangerous cargo issued by the British Board of Trade. 

Sulfuric acid. When sulfuric acid escapes into the bed of coal 
beneath the drums in which it may be stowed spontaneous com¬ 
bustion will not take place within the region of the leakage. 


274 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Sulphurous acid vapor will extinguish a coal fire. 

Coal that has been wetted with sulphuric acid should not be 
used for firing. 

Carbolic acid. There is great danger of death from absorption 
of this acid through the skin. Casks containing it should be 
specially sound and carefully handled. 

Phosphoric acid. This can be carried under deck if con¬ 
tained in strong stoppered bottles packed with wool or sawdust 
and not more than six to a case. 

Picric acid. The Board of Trade have advised their surveyors 
that this acid may be carried under deck without a magazine in 
ships other than emigrant ships, if the following conditions are 
complied with— 

1. The packages must be of sufficient strength not to allow 
any of their contents to escape when subjected to rough usage. 

2. It must be stowed away from boilers and strong mineral 
acids, paints, etc., and not in contact with lead. 

3. Each package must be marked as follows: 

Explosives Class III, Division 2 

Picric acid. (If not crystals state percentage of water.) To 
be stowed away from boilers, also strong mineral acids, paints, 
etc., and not in contact with lead. 

4. Subject to these provisions the total quantity of picric 
acid to be stowed on board any one ship is limited to not more 
than ten tons in each separate hold or compartment. 

Nitre cake. Nitre cake is a byproduct of the manufacture of 
nitric acid and contains free sulphuric acid and sulphate of soda, 
with a small percentage of free nitric acid. When dry it is 
harmless, but it absorbs moisture very readily from the air and 
when wet will corrode wood and iron. It will also, when in 
contact with iron, cause hydrogen gas to be given off. Masters 
should always be informed of these qualities of the substance. 

It should be packed perfectly dry in airtight vessels. 

Coastwise it may be shipped in bulk, if perfectly dry. After 
this cargo the hold should be thoroughly cleansed. 

Chlorate of potash. Although incombustible itself chlorate 
of potash is an ardent supporter of combustion and some of the 
mixtures with this substance are subject to spontaneous com¬ 
bustion. All such mixtures are sensitive to percussion. 

Many mixtures of chlorate of potash will be set on fire if 
acted upon by strong sulphuric acid. 

The following rules are given for its handling. 

1. Pack in iron drums or in strong paper-lined casks capable 
of rough handling. 

2. Do not stow in the same hold with other combustible 
material. 


STOWAGE 


275 


3. Keep away from strong mineral acids. 

4. Not more than ten tons should be carried in one hold. 

Amorphous phosphorus. This form of phosphorus also known 

as “ red ” or “ Schrotter’s ” phosphorus is not liable to spon¬ 
taneous combustion and does not take fire in the air until heated 
to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. 

There is no objection to its stowage below deck if packed in 
tin. Shipments are usually made in ten pound tins, ten tins to a 
case. Unlike yellow phosphorus, it need not be kept under 
water. 

Sulphide of sodium and sulphide of potassium. Liable to 
spontaneous combustion. Should be packed dry in strong air¬ 
tight drums of steel. 

In the hydrated condition these chemicals are not subject to 
spontaneous combustion and there is no objection to their ship¬ 
ment on this account. 

Peroxide of sodium. Not explosive by itself but dangerous 
when in contact with any combustible substance. Pack in steel 
drums, not too large and stow away from combustibles. 

Caustic potash. Packed in steel drums and stowed where 
possible leakage will not come in contact with passengers or 
crew. 

Bi-sulphide of carbon. This is considered “ Dangerous 
Goods ” under the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act, and 
should be so marked. 

It is a colorless heavy mobile liquid, which evaporates quickly 
and produces a pressure in any vessel containing it. It easily 
passes through the smallest opening. 

It has a bad odor, as of decaying vegetables. 

The vapor will ignite on a warm surface and flash back, igniting 
the liquid. This has been known to happen across a distance of 
20 feet. 

It should be carried in strong drums, packed two to a case and 
cases perforated. 

It should only be carried as deck cargo. Take the greatest 
care to keep it out of the sun’s rays. Do not cover with black 
tarpaulin. Keep away from all steam pipes. 

Inspect every day for the odor of leakage. If any odor throw 
drums overboard. 

Sulphur dioxide. Carry on deck, not dangerous however. 

Liquid ammonia. Ammoniacal gas compressed into liquid 
form should be classed with dangerous goods. It is liable to 
explosion, and the vapors, when released, are dangerous. 

Should be carried in steel “ bottles ” tested to a pressure of 
at least 675 lbs. per square inch. .... 

The aqueous solution of ammonia should be carried in drums 
not exceeding 12 gallons capacity, with an empty space equal to 
5.33 per cent, left in each drum. 


276 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Stow away from fires or engine room and apart from living 
quarters. 

Dinitrobenz l. Although a constituent of certain powerful 
explosives, it is not dangerous in itself and no special rules are 
necessary with regard to its carriage. 

Napthalene. Not an explosive; no special risks attach to its 
conveyance. 

Liquified carbonic acid . Must be carried in steel cylinders 
of approved strength. 

Matches. May not be carried on emigrant ships. No objec¬ 
tion to shipment in cargo vessels. Should be packed in tin-lined 
airtight cases. 

Safety matches may be carried on emigrant ships if packed in 
zinc- or tin-lined hermetically sealed cases and stowed in the 
square of the hatchway. 

Oiled materials. Should be soldered in metal-lined cases 
after the goods have been “ seasoned ” for at least a month. 

Stow in a cool place. 

Inodorous felt. Liable to spontaneous combustion. 

Should always be marked in red letters 1%": 

INODOROUS FELT 

Roofing and sheathing felt. Black felt made from coal tar 
and pitch is safe. Brown felt, made from jute waste is liable to 
spontaneous combustion if the rolls are stowed in the hold of a 
ship before they have cooled to the temperature of the sur¬ 
rounding air. 

Lampblack. Spontaneous combustion extremely rare, but 
stow near hatchways. Printed paper should not be used for 
packing this material. Packed in cases or casks lined with 
clean dry paper it is safely carried. 

Carbon papers. Containing fatty substances and finely 
divided carbon, these are liable to spontaneous combustion 
under certain conditions. 

In limited quantity packed in airtight tins there is no objec¬ 
tion to them as “ general cargo.” 

If not packed in tins they should be carried on deck. 

Glue pieces. Liable to spontaneous combustion. Be care¬ 
ful in stowage away from combustible cargo and near square of 
hatch. 

Calcium carbide. Calcium carbide or carbide of calcium may 
be transported on passenger vessels when the same is contained 
in steel drums or steel receptacles, the seams of which are 
lapped and properly riveted or fastened in such manner as will 
insure the maximum strength of the joints and when the said 


STOWAGE 


277 


drum or receptacles are fitted with double covers, so that such 
drums or receptacles shall be watertight and airtight, during 
such transportation. For packages of 110 pounds or less, such 
drums or receptacles shall be made of open-hearth steel of not 
less than No. 26 gauge. For packages of more than 110 pounds, 
such drums or receptacles shall be made of open-hearth steel 
of not less than No. 24 gauge. Calcium carbide or carbide of 
calcium may also be transported on passenger vessels in cans 
containing not more than ten pounds each. 


Regulations of the Board of Underwriters of New York 
for the Loading of “ Calcium Carbide ” 

“ Calcium Carbide,” may be stowed under deck of General 
Cargo Vessels in quantities not exceeding ten (10) per cent, of a 
vessels net registered tonnage. 

the packages to be of one (1) cwt. Drums crated and two (2) 
cwt. Drums incased in wood. Same to be stowed in between 
decks close to the Hatches (but not under them), with no other 
cargo on top, and as far from the Ventilators as possible. 

In Single Deck Vessels, to be stowed close to the Hatches 
(but not under them) with no other cargo on top, and not within 
eight (8) feet of the bottom of the hold. 

Not to be stowed in fore or after peaks, and not to be used for 
broken stowage, not to be distributed in various parts of the 
vessel, but to be stowed in one compartment if possible. 

The compartment must always be well ventilated, the packages 
to be stowed on their ends, clear of all steam, fire, scupper pipes 
and deadlights, and in the forward ends of compartments where 
bunkers adjoin, and not in the empty bunker space below. 

“ Calcium Carbide ” should be stowed in Poop and Bridge 

spaces when practicable. , . 

This commodity must always be stowed under the personal 
supervision of a Surveyor of this Board. 


Construction of Magazines for the Stowage of High and 
Low Explosives 

Regulations of Board of Underwriters of New York 
All iron work inside carefully covered by wood, planed on 
one side, and all nails to be of Copper. 

Iron decks are to be covered with feather-edged yarding 
which is to be an inch on one edge and one-quarter of an inch 
on the other, and to lap over two inches. . 1t . . 

Uprights are to be fitted to cargo battens and bulkheads 

before sheathing. 



278 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Magazines are always to be built in between decks if possible, 
and must be so placed that the doors are easily accessible from a 
hatchway. 

All electric lights running through compartments where maga¬ 
zines are fitted must be disconnected at the bulkhead. 

Iron decks may be covered with tongued and grooved boards 
instead of feather-edged boarding in constructing magazines as 
noted above. 

The following amendments to the rules of the Board regulating 
the construction of magazines for the stowage of high and low 
explosives, have been adopted: 

1. Cover all iron with fair quality 1" unplaned lumber, properly 
secured with wire nails, heads counter-sunk, and fully protected 
by putty and paint, or thoroughly covered with saw-dust. Deck 
to be sheathed with same quality of lumber laid on 1" thwartship 
strips about 2' apart. Use sufficient saw-dust on deck to prevent 
possibility of friction. 

2. Black powder in steel drums to be stowed on heads with 
strips of lath between each tier. All to be thoroughly secured 
with dunnage in every possible way to prevent possibility of 
moving. An 8" air space must be constructed against fire-room 
bulkhead, when explosives are carried in a compartment adjacent 
to such bulkhead. 

The old rules of the Board relative to the construction of 
magazines were to be modified, until further notice, only with 
respect to the above two amendments, otherwise the rules were 
to apply as heretofore. 

Hazardous cargo. The following rule has been adopted by 
the Commissioner of Docks, New York. 

“ The loading or discharging, or keeping on any wharf, pier 
or bulkhead, or any lighter, barge or other craft moored to any 
wharf, pier or bulkhead in the city, of benzol, toluol, or explosives 
or explosive material in excess of the amount required for the 
vessel's own use for signaling or life-saving purposes shall not 
be permitted, without a written permit therefor being first had 
and obtained from the Commissioner of Docks.” 

The limit of weight of explosives which may be loaded at the 
docks is one ton. All explosives above this weight must be 
transferred to ship from lighter only in anchorages in Gravesend 
Bay or Sandy Hook bight. No transfer of explosives can be 
made except under the supervision of the captain of the port. 
The latter has directed that where small quantities of explosives 
are transferred to ship at her loading pier, it must be from lighter 
on the offshore side. 


STOWAGE 


279 


Every package containing explosives or other dangerous 
articles, when presented to a common carrier for shipment, must 
have plainly marked on the outside thereof the contents thereof; 
and it is unlawful for any person to deliver or cause to be de¬ 
livered to any common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign 
commerce by land or water, for interstate of foreign transporta¬ 
tion, or to carry upon any vessel or vehicle engaged in interstate 
or foreign transportation any explosive or other dangerous article 
under any false or deceptive marking, description, invoice, 
shipping order or other declaration, or without informing the 
agent of such carrier of the true character thereof, at or before 
the time such delivery for carriage is made. Anyone who know¬ 
ingly violates or causes to be violated any provision of this 
section may be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not 
more than eighteen months, or both. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor has decided that 
“ Commercial alcohol, including grain, wood and denatured, is 
not a like explosive burning fluid or a like dangerous article to 
the several articles enumerated in the statute, covering the 
carriage of such articles by passenger steamers, and hence its 
carriage as freight or use as stores on passenger steamers is not 
prohibited by Section 4472, of the Revised Statutes.” 

Shipments of varnish may be accepted by steamers carrying 
passengers, subject to the following requirements: Varnish with 
a flash point not lower than 50 degrees F. may be shipped when 
contained in securely closed metal cans containing no more than 
5 gallons in each can; or with a flash point of not less than 20 
degrees F. in securely closed bottles or cans containing not more 
than 1 gallon in each vessel. The cans or bottles to be packed 
in strong boxes or barrels, and described as “ Varnish in metal 
cans ” or “ Varnish in glass.” Shipping receipts must state as 
part of the description of the articles therein u No label re¬ 
quired.” They must also bear the following certificate signed 
by the shipper or his authorized agent. “ This is to certify that 
the above articles are properly described by name, and are 
packed and marked and in proper condition for transportation 
according to the regulations prescribed by the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission.” 


280 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


XVI 

Case Oil 

The five-gallon oil tin came into being originally to cut down 
cost in transportation. Case oil is stowed in wooden boxes, 
two five-gallon rectangular tins to a case. The cases cut trans¬ 
portation charges, for the vessel taking out case oil is able to 
get a return cargo from a foreign port (not always possible in 
tankers) and the cases are very handy for primitive transport 
after landing, as on the rivers of China, and on mule back inland. 

Case oil stows quickly, can be used as a “ flatter ” stowed on 
its side as “ beam filling.” 

Recently a stevedore was reported (in The Oracle , the Ori¬ 
ental Navigation Company’s house paper) to have taken in 
10,000 cases of oil in seven hours through one hatch on the S.S. 
West Avenal. 

Case oil is taken on board in “ drafts ” of eight cases and is 
run to the wings of the hold and ’tween deck on light trucks, a 
draft to a truck load. The work is very rapid. The cases are 
stowed singly with little waste room or chocking. 

Ruling as to the Loading of Gasolene, Naphtha and/or Benzine 
By New York Board of Underwriters 

When one or more holds and ’tween decks are completely 
filled with Oil and Gasolene, Naphtha and/or Benzine, 8,000 
cases of Gasolene, Naphtha and/or Benzine will be allowed as 
the maximum amount to be carried under deck of any one 
General Cargo steamer, it being understood that when 8,000 
cases have been loaded in a hold, no Gasolene, Naphtha and/or 
Benzine can be carried in any other enclosed space, whether 
that space be a poop, bridge, fore peak, or otherwise. 

Any amount consistent with proper stowage and the stability 
of the steamer can be carried on the open deck. 

Owners and Agents of steamers desiring to load Gasolene, 
Naphtha and/or Benzine in any other manner than allowed as 
above, should lay all the facts of each such case before the 
Surveyor who is to inspect the said steamer, describing the kind 
of steamer and the compartment in which it is desired to take 
the Gasolene, Naphtha and/or Benzine, the manner of ventila¬ 
tion, etc., when, after investigating each such case, same will be 
passed upon and a decision rendered by the Surveyor. 


STOWAGE 


281 


XVII 

Grain Cargoes 

The carriage of grain is one of the most important functions 
of a merchant marine. Grain is the very life blood of the people 
of all lands and involves the most basic transaction of our 
civilized world. Explicit rules have been set for the stowage 
and carriage of grain, for the cargo flows like water and many 
vessels have been lost in consequence of careless stowage. 
Grain is carried in bulk and in bags. It finds its way into every 
corner of the hold and great precaution must be taken in pre¬ 
paring for its reception. 

Grain is taken on board from elevators and as much as twenty- 
five thousand tons will be shot on board ships in the course of 
twenty four hours. It is often discharged by suction apparatus. 

A vessel carrying more than one third of her net tonnage in 
grain is considered to be “ laden with a grain cargo.” 

The regulations of the various boards of underwriters and of 
the New York Produce Exchange are given. These regulations 
should be thoroughly understood by the master and officers of a 
vessel about to load grain. A great deal of trouble will be saved 
if the rules are studied beforehand. 

Grain shipped from different ports should confirm to the local 
requirements for stowage and the master should inform himself 
of these regulations before taking on cargo. The Port Warden 
will usually be able to supply the required information. 

The Rules of the National Board of Marine Underwriters at 
New York are very comprehensive. They are given in full. 
These rules are the same as those of the Board of Underwriters 
of New York, and the New York Produce Exchange. 

The Rules of the Board of Underwriters of New Orleans, of the 
Mobile Board of Underwriters, of the Wheat Tariff Association, 
San Francisco and of the Port Warden’s Office of Montreal, 
Canada, may be cited. When loading grain at these ports these 
rules will hold. Essentially they are similar to the rules quoted. 

Shifting Boards. The regulations regarding the placing of 
shifting boards are very precise and the actual fitting of these 
should receive the greatest attention. Barden’s method of 
fitting shifting boards is shown in the illustrations. In Europe 


282 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


this method has been widely adopted and has received the 
approval of the New York Board of Underwriters and the British 
Board of Trade. 




Method of fitting shifting boards in a forward hold and over the 
shaft alley in an after hold. 


The stanchions consist of a combination of four angle irons 
and a web plate forming a slot on each side of the web into which 
the shifting boards are shipped. The manner of operation is 
shown by the cuts. 

There is a considerable saving in time 
and trouble when this system is employed. 
The illustrations are taken from the Mc- 
Nab Encyclopedia of Marine Appliances. 

Bags. Grain bags should be of the best 
quality and well sewn. The stowage where 
bag grain is used on top of bulk cargo 
should be carefully made and where this 
cargo is used as end stowage the bags must be “ boulked.” 
However this is also a dangerous practice and solid bulkheads 
should be fitted instead. 



A shifting board 
stanchion. 









































































STOWAGE 


283 


Grain cannot be adequately secured on a slope or level by 
use of tarpaulins, with weights on top of them. 

Loading and Discharging. Grain cargoes are rapid and the 
vessel’s draft should be watched and lines attended carefully 
during the period of loading and discharging. 

Rules for Loading Grain 
By the National Board of Marine Underwriters 

1. The Free-Board shall be measured from top of deck at 
side of the vessel to the water’s edge at the center of the load 
Water-Line; Vessels having Free-Boards assigned by the Rules 
of the Board of Trade (Marine Department), London, shall not 
be loaded deeper than permitted by those rules. No grain shall 
be carried in the fore and after peaks except in bags. 

2. Shifting Boards (except as provided for in Rule 11) must 
extend from the upper deck to the floor when grain is carried in 
bulk, and must be grain-tight, with grain-tight fillings between 
the beams, and are to extend to the top of all amidship feeders. 
When grain is carried in bags the shifting boards must extend 
from deck to deck in the between decks, and not less than four 
feet downward from the beams in the lower hold. 

3. Shifting Boards referred to in all rules shall be of two (2) 
inch yellow pine, or of three (3) inch spruce (or equivalent). 

4. All hatch feeders and end bulkheads must be boarded on 
the inside. 

5. The grain must be well trimmed up between the beams and 
in the wings, and the space between them completely filled. 

6. No coal shall be carried on deck of steamers sailing between 
the 1st of October and the 1st of April beyond such a supply as 
will be consumed prior to vessels reaching the ocean. 

7. Care must be taken that when grain in bags or other cargo 
is stowed over bulk grain, the bulk grain must be covered with 
two thicknesses of boards placed fore and aft and athwartships, 
with spaces between the lower boards of not more than four (4) 
feet, and between the upper boards of not more than nine (9) 
inches. Care must be taken that all the bags are properly 
stowed, in good order, and well filled and that the tiers are laid 
close together. 

8. Grain in poop, peaks and/or bridge deck must have such 
grain in bags and have proper dunnage and shifting boards. 

9. Steamers having water ballast tanks must have them cov¬ 
ered with a grain-tight platform made of 2*/2 or 3 inch sound 
and dry planks, but this platform may be dispensed with where 
the top of the tanks are of heavy plates and precautions are 
taken against overflow from the bilges. 


284 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


10. Steamships without ballast tanks, having a cargo plat¬ 
form in good order, will not be required to fit a grain floor over it, 
otherwise such grain floor will be required. 

11. Vessels carrying small quantities of grain in bulk must 
have shifting boards to the top of the grain, and the bulk must 
be properly covered with boards before any other cargo is stowed 
over it. 

12. Single deck Steamers with a continuous hold forward 
will be required to have a closed bulkhead to divide the same. 
This rule will also apply to the after hold. 

13. Shifting boards must be properly secured to stanchions, 
or shored every eight feet of length and every five feet of depth 
of hold, including hatchways. Shores may be 3x8, 4x6, 
5 x 71 / 2 , 5 V 2 x 8, or 6 x 81/2 inches according to their lengths, 
which are not to exceed 13.6, 18, 25, 27.6, or 30 feet respectively. 

14. The use of Grain-tight Divisions, Shifting Boards, Shores 
and Wire Rope Stays when already fitted and in good condition 
will be permitted if as set out in paragraphs 21 and 24 to 28 
inclusive, pages 41 to 45 inclusive of the Memorandum relating 
to Grain Cargoes 1914 issued by the Board of Trade, London. 

15. No bulk grain or seeds in bulk (except Oats and/or Cotton 
Seed, as hereinafter provided in Rules 22,23 and 24) to be carried 
in between decks, nor where a ship has more than two decks, 
between the two upper decks, unless in feeders, properly con¬ 
structed, to fill the orlop and lower hold. Bulk grain may be 
carried on orlop or third deck below, provided said orlop has 
wing openings and amidship feeders to feed same. 

16. Steamers with two or more decks not having sufficient and 
properly constructed wing and ’midship feeders, will be required 
to leave sufficient space above the bulk in lower hold not less 
than 5 feet under deck beams to properly secure it with bags or 
other cargo; the bulk to be covered with boards as in Rule 7. 
If an orlop deck has sufficient openings to the lower hold the 
orlop and lower hold may be considered as one hold and loaded 
accordingly. 

17. Steamers having one deck and beams may carry bulk to 
such a height as will permit the stowage over it of not less than 
four (4) tiers of bags or other suitable cargo. All bags or other 
cargo to be stowed on two tiers of boards as provided for in 
Rule 7. 

18. Steamers with laid between decks must have hatchway 
feeders, and if the distance in the lower holds, between the 
forward bulkhead in said holds and the nearest end of the 
hatchway feeders exceeds sixteen (16) feet (unless in the 
opinion of the Surveyor the distance should be less) then vessel 
must have a wing feeder on each side provided in the between 
decks to feed this space. If there are no openings in the between 


STOWAGE 


285 


decks for wing feeders, four (4) heights of bags must be put on 
top of the bulk grain from the bulkhead to within sixteen (16) 
feet of the feeders. 

The same rule applies when the distance between the after 
end of the hatchway feeders and the after bulkhead in lower 
holds exceeds sixteen (16) feet. 

19. All bags stowed in between decks must be dunnaged. 

20 . Steamers of the type known as “ Turret ” with single 
deck or single deck and beams, may load full cargoes of grain 
in bulk, but must have shifting boards as required in Rules 2, 
3 and 13, and if required by Surveyor, trimming bulkheads for¬ 
ward and aft extending from deck to floor, or if coming under 
hatches to top of coaming as directed by the Surveyor, and sub¬ 
stantially fitted under their supervision. The loose grain in the 
end compartments to be secured by not less than four tiers of 
bags on boards properly laid, as provided for in Rule 7. 

21 . Steamers that are partly single deck and partly double 
deck known as Switchback and as part Awning Deck steamers 
may load all bulk grain in the lower holds of their double deck 
compartments, providing proper midship feeders and wing feed¬ 
ers are fitted, but the space in the between decks around the 
feeders must be filled with bagged grain or general cargo, but 
if the vessel is too deep to carry any grain or other cargo in the 
between decks the feeders are to be shored or properly secured 
to the satisfaction of the Surveyor. 

If there are no openings in between decks for wing feeders and 
the bulkheads are more than sixteen (16) feet away from the 
nearest end of the midship feeders four (4) heights of bags must 
be put on top of the bulk grain from the bulkheads to within 
sixteen (16) feet of the feeders, unless in the opinion of the 
Surveyor the distance should be less. 

Bunker hatches may be used as feeders when feasible. The 
quantity of bulk grain in the feeders must be at least two and 
one-half per cent. (2y 2 %) of the carrying capacity of the hold. 

22. Full cargo of oats and/or cotton seed. Steamers with 
double bottoms for water ballast may carry a full cargo of Oats 
and/or Cotton Seed (except as provided for in Rule 8), but if 
with two or more decks must have tight wing and hatch feeders 
to feed the lower hold or orlop as provided for in Rule 18. 

23. Part cargo of oats and/or cotton seed. When the quan¬ 
tity of Oats and/or Cotton Seed carried in bulk between the 
two upper decks exceeds 60% of the capacity of said deck, the 
excess over 50% may be stowed in bulk in compartments fitted 
with wing shifting boards extending from bulkheads at each 
end of hold to within four (4) feet of the hatches, one of such 
compartments shall be the largest between deck compartments; 
or where a steamer has four or more compartments in between 


286 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


decks Oats and/or Cotton Seed may be loaded in bulk in all of 
these compartments if they are provided with wing feeders of 
increased size to reach from the forward and after bulkhead to 
within four feet of hatches. The hatch feeders or feeders for 
lower hold must be capped boxed feeders, five or six feet in 
depth. All holds are to be so fitted. 

24. In Single Deck Steamers Oats and/or Cotton Seed may 
be loaded over heavy grain with proper separations in two holds, 
but the grain in all other holds must be properly secured with 
bagged grain or other cargo easily handled. This Rule applies 
also to Steamers where some holds are double and some single 
deck. 

25. Modern two (2) deck steamers with large trimming 
hatches may have properly constructed feeders, not to exceed 
twelve by sixteen (12 x 16) feet. 

26. Stoke Hold Bulkheads and Donkey Boiler recesses are 
required to be sheathed with wood and made grain-tight, with 
an air space between the iron and the wood, when exposed to 
heat from fire-room or donkey boiler. When already properly 
sheathed Surveyor may pass the vessel, but not less than nine 
(9) inches of space will be required where the sheathing is to be 
erected or renewed. This rule applies where the fires are liable 
to cause damage by excessive heat from the stoke hold or donkey 
boiler. 

27. Single Deck Steamers with high hatch Coamings loading 
full or part cargoes of Grain in hulk. 

1 . The Hatch Coamings may be used as feeders and must be 
of sufficient size to admit of not less than two and one-half per 
cent. ( 21 / 2 %) of the total grain in the hold being stowed within 
the coamings; otherwise the bulk grain must be secured by 
four (4) heights of bags. 

2 . When Hatch Coamings are utilized for feeders and such 
coamings extend into the hold a foot or more below the main 
deck, such coamings, in the part below the deck, are required to 
have two (2) two-inch openings in the coamings, between the 
beams, to allow the grain to feed into the wings and ends of the 
hold. 

3. The Hatch Coamings must be properly supported by heavy 
Iron cross beams and fitted with fore and aft shifting boards. 

4. The Hatch Coamings must be so placed that they are cap¬ 
able of feeding the center and both ends of the holds. 

Sailing Vessels 

28. Vessels being loaded with grain in Bags shall be dunnaged 
from six to twelve inches on the floor and from six to fifteen 
inches on the bilges, according to the form of the ship’s bottom; 
and two (2) inches at the sides. 


STOWAGE 


287 


The between decks shall be dunnaged two (2) inches from the 
sides and decks. 

The dunnage in the hold must be laid over with boards and 
entirely covered with sails, or approved mats, so as to prevent 
any of the loose grain from running down on to the floor of the 
vessel and thence to the pump-well. If sails are used they 
must be of good quality and free from holes. The sails and 
mats must cover the keelsons. 

29. Bulk or loose grain must be taken in Bins prepared for that 
purpose. Materials for Bins must be of well seasoned stock; 
unseasoned lumber must not be used where it will come in 
contact with the grain. 

30. The floor of the Bin must be laid on sleepers of scantling 
2 l / 2 by 4 inches in size, sixteen inches apart from center to center, 
supported by studs of corresponding size, also sixteen inches 
from center to center. 

It must be raised from six to twelve inches over the floor of 
the vessel—in the bilge from six to fifteen inches, and in vessels 
that are very flat or sharp, may be increased or diminished at the 
discretion of the Surveyor. 

In no case shall the floor of the bin be laid on loose dunnage. 

The floor is considered as extending from the keelson to the 
turn of the bilge. It must be laid with two thicknesses of one 
inch boards, so that they will break joints at the edges and ends, 
and care must be taken that it be grain-tight. Vessels under 
three hundred (300) tons register may be permitted to have a 
single floor laid with one inch boards placed edge and edge and 
seams covered with battens two by one (2x1) inch, or edges 
lapped one inch. 

31. The studs for the forward and after Bulkheads for vessels 
not exceeding fourteen (14) feet depth of hold must be equal to 
four by six (4 x 6) inches in size; for vessels of a greater depth 
than fourteen (14) feet, they must be equal to four by eight 
(4 x 8) inches. They must be set twenty (20) inches apart 
from center to center, firmly secured at the top and bottom, and 
properly braced, in the center, also cleated on the ceiling to 
resist the pressure of the grain, and made grain-tight. 

32. All air strakes and open seams must be closed and the 
sides of the vessel above the turn of the bilge must be sealed 
after the manner of clapboarding reversed, and not furred where 
it can be avoided. When furring is used the ceiling must be 
made grain-tight at the bilges and sides. All lodging and bosom 
knees not fitted tight to the deck must be cleated grain-tight 
around the face of the knees. 

33. Vessels with single deck or with one deck and beams 
carrying a full cargo of grain are required to have, in addition to 
the forward and after end bulkheads, two trimming bulkheads 


288 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


(thus making a division of three compartments), to extend from 
the upper deck to within two feet from the bottom of the vessel, 
except where the between decks are laid aft, the after one may 
extend only to the lower deck, and be so placed that in loading 
the middle compartment will be entirely filled and the end'ones 
left to trim the vessel. If the end compartments are not entirely 
filled care must be taken that the cargo be properly covered and 
secured on top to prevent shifting. The studs of the trimming 
bulkheads to be not less than three by six (3 x 6) inches and set 
twenty-two (22) inches from the centers, and all studs to be 
firmly secured at top and bottom and properly braced and 
cleated 

34 . Vessels carrying bulk and bags, must not carry bulk higher 
than to admit of the stowage of one-quarter of the cargo in bags 
or not less than five heights of bags over it (except the vessel be 
under five hundred (500) tons register when the height may 
be regulated by the Surveyor). 

35. Vessels with two decks having bulk grain in hold as high 
as the between deck, shall have strakes of between deck-plane 
opened on each side over the bulk in the wings and amidships, 
and have three or four feet of bulk grain in wing and amid- 
ship feeders, upon which sufficient grain in bags or other cargo 
may be stowed over board coverings, as provided for in Rule 7. 
When the hold is not filled with bulk grain to the between deck, 
enough space must be left and sufficient cargo stowed over it to 
properly secure it, as provided for in Rule 7. 

36. The Pump-Well must be sufficiently large to admit of the 
passage of a man to the bottom of the hold, and with room to 
work conveniently when there, say not less than four (4) feet 
fore and aft, and five (5) feet athwartships (reference, however, 
must be had to the size of the keelson and assistant keelsons), 
and must be grain-tight and ceiled. 

37. Access to the pump-well must be had either by a man¬ 
hole through the upper deck or by a clear passage-way between 
decks from the after hatch. In no case must it be from the 
main hatch. 

38. Masts, Water-Tanks and Pumps, either of wood or iron, 
must be properly cased, to prevent damage from leakage, and 
mast coats must be strong and tight. 

39 . The between deck hatches must be kept off, and the 
scuppers safely plugged to prevent loose grain from running 
down the ship’s timbers. 

Iron or Steel Sailing Vessels 

40. The foregoing rules are also to apply to Iron or Steel 
Sailing Vessels, excepting that in cases where the floor and 


STOWAGE 


289 


ceiling are in such good condition as to warrant it, the extra 
floor and ceiling may be dispensed with, and if the stanchions 
are not over four (4) feet apart and are double, two or three 
inch plank can be fitted between them for shifting plank. 

Vessels having iron or steel between decks without openings 
for wing feeders, the bulk grain in the lower hold must be 
secured by at least five heights of bags or its equivalent in other 
cargo laid over board coverings as provided in Rule 7. 

41. In the event of unusual construction of vessels which may 
necessitate deviation from the foregoing Rules, the Surveyor 
must obtain the approval of the Inspection Committee of the 
Board. 

Rice. The stowage of rice follows that of other grains with 
regard to shifting precautions. In addition rice should be 
specially protected against damp air; and ventilation provided 
for as in the carriage of jute. Rice readily absorbs odors and 
should be kept clear of hides, saltpeter, etc. 

Dunnage carefully keeping all bags free from contact with 
ironwork. 

Rice is of two general kinds, clean rice , and paddy rice, the 
latter being lighter as the husk is still on the kernel. 

Rice bags run from 100 to 250 lbs. depending upon the kind 
of grain. 

Dampness and wet of all kinds are fatal to rice. When com¬ 
ing to a cold weather port be careful in taking off hatches. A rush 
of warm air from the hold, if up from the tropics, is followed by 
cold air going down from the decks. Condensation takes place 
and dripping sweat from the beams rains down on the cargo. 

XVIII 

Special Cargo 

While the freight rate on ordinary cargo is based on either 
weight or measurement, what is called “ special cargo,” such 
as revolvers, jewelry, boots and shoes, and goods of an unusual 
value according to bulk, have always to pay an extra rate , based 
on a small percentage of the value, in addition to the regular 
freight rate. This extra charge is made because of the necessity 
of special stowage for its protection. In some cases cargo of this 
character is delivered specially to the captain personally, and 


290 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



is placed under the care of the purser or some other responsible 
officer of the ship. The extra rate may vary anywhere from one 
per cent, to three and one-half per cent, of the value of the 


Loading a locomotive. 

shipment. Sometimes, the extra charge is made on the basis 
of so much extra per 40 cubic feet, and sometimes on the basis 
of so much ad valorem, whichever produces the most revenue 
for the steamship company. 






STOWAGE 


291 



Ship's option (weight or measurement). When a steamship 
company makes a freight quotation “ per ton, weight or measure¬ 
ment, ship’s option,” it is understood that the charge will be 
made on a weight basis if the weight of the shipment exceeds 
the cubic measurement of same or on a measurement basis 
should the cubic measurement exceed the weight. While 
practically all the foreign steamship lines quote freight rates on 
the basis of 2,240 pounds or 40 cubic feet measurement to the 


Special cargo—loading a forty-ton sampan at Yokohama . 

ton, such companies as the Panama Railroad Co. and the Ameri- 
can-Hawaiian Steamship Co. (which also do a domestic business) 
figure the ton as 2,000 pounds. Transpacific business handled 
by the Southern Pacific Company and other transcontinental 
lines, is also done on the basis of 2,000 pounds to the ton. 
These companies usually quote rates, however, at so much per 
100 pounds, or so much per cubic foot, so that it is practically 
immaterial whether they figure the ton as 2,240 pounds or 2,000 
pounds. 






292 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Cargo marked “fragile” “ handle with care” etc . Shippers 
should appreciate the fact that it is quite useless to mark in 
English only , such expressions as “ handle with care,” “ this 
side up,” etc., on packages intended for foreign countries, where 
English is not spoken or understood by those who will handle 
the freight. If such instructions are necessary, they should 
be made in the language of the country for which they are 
destined, as well as in English. 

Heavy packages. Unless otherwise stated it is understood 
that the freight rates quoted by the steamship companies apply 
to packages not exceeding two tons weight. When packages 
exceed this weight provision must be made by the shipper either 
to put the pieces aboard the steamer through direct arrangement 
with a hoisting company or to arrange with the steamship com¬ 
pany for freight rates to include the hoisting charges. Similar 
extra charges are liable to be made at the port of destination 
or at transshipping points, so that shippers should be careful 
to find out when shipping heavy pieces just what the freight rate 
covers. 

XIX 

Pilfering 

The constantly increasing amount of theft and pilferage from 
cargoes of merchandise has compelled insurance experts all over 
the world to consider ways and means for correcting it, as losses 
from this source are declared to equal if they do not exceed 
marine losses from all other sources combined. 

“ No port in the world,” says World's Markets , “ is free 
from this evil and the records of many are very discouraging. 
Organized pilferage is carried on in New York with the utmost 
effrontery; in fact, it has become so extensive in certain in¬ 
stances as to render questionable the wisdom of keeping certain 
lines of transportation open. Shoes and leather are the articles 
most frequently stolen, but other commodities are by no means 
immune. Longshoremen fill their blouses with crude rubber 
and dispose of it over the nearest ‘ speak-easy ’ bar at the rate 
of about 50 per cent, of its market value. 

“ Frequently cases of silk destined for foreign markets are 
emptied of their contents and filled with worthless junk of equal 


STOWAGE 


293 


weight before they are delivered to the ship. The truckman 
receives a clean bill of lading and the loss is not discovered until 
the merchandise is delivered at the foreign port. The only 
way to beat the game is to watch the goods until they are stowed 
away in the steamer’s hold— and sometimes even after that. 

“ A foreign agent in Guayaquil writes: 4 1 regret to have to 
report a most serious system of robbery on the wharf and in the 
Guayaquil Custom House, which the government does nothing 
to repress. The officials of the Custom House even pretend to 
refuse to grant a certificate of such robberies on grounds that 
this would enable the consignees to make claims against the 
officials on the wharf of the Custom House.’ 

“ Havana importers state: 4 Theft and pilferage of goods 
consigned to this port are of daily occurrence, and no efficient 
measures have been taken to prevent it. Sometimes whole 
packages are missing, which the agents of the steamer certify 
they have delivered, while the warehouse authorities certify that 
delivery has not been made. It is argued that the insurance 
interests doing business in Havana should appoint a lawyer to 
take care of their difficulties of this nature.’ ” 

Supervision of loading and discharging is up to the ship’s offi¬ 
cers. Fvery hold working cargo liable to damage or pilfering 
should be watched at all times. Holds should be under the 
responsible care of a deck officer. Under him certain reliable 
quartermasters and seaman should always be on the job study¬ 
ing the stowage, watching the slings and gear, looking out for 
the interests of the ship. These men, keeping notes of stowage 
and discharging, calling the mate at every breakage, getting 
marks and numbers, and protecting the ship against loss, also 
protect the shipper and, indeed, perform a still larger service. 
Such vigilant work on the part of officers and crew results in a 
real national gain to commerce. The money loss from pilfering 
and careless breakage is exceeded and added to by the business 
loss that follows non delivery of the goods. On an efficient 
honest ship the whole crew are worth, and earn every dollar 
they get—every sensible owner knows this. 

Duty to Cargo should always be foremost in the minds of the 
ship’s complement. The ship is liable for loss from the time 
her tackles take hold of the cargo for loading to the time they 
release it, without damage, for discharge. 


294 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Analysis of Hoisting Cargo 

The cycle of a full unloading operation is analysed as follows: 

Slinging (in hold or ’tween decks). seconds 

Drag to hatch. “ 

Hoist. “ 

Swing over side. “ 

Lowering. “ 

Landing. “ 

Return of hook to hold or ’tween deck. ..- “ 

Total. “ 

In loading the cycle is as follows: 

Hooking. seconds 

Hoisting and swinging inboard. “ 

Lowering into hatch. “ 

Landing. “ 

Return of hook to dock or lighter. “ 

Total. “ _ 

Note. —Number of men in hatch, on deck, on dock; kind of 
cargo, weight per draft, etc. 

A stop watch in the palm of the hand and a note book will give 
an officer a great deal of important information with regard 
to his hatches, the kind of work going on, and the comparative 
speed of hatches and gangs. 

To get a correct average. Take each operation ten times on 
stop watch then divide by 10. 

Of course most men know whether a hatch is going to capacity, 
but a great deal can be found out by a study of the longer 
time taken to adjust poorly made slings and nets. An hour lost 
each day through poor gear is an expensive proposition. The 
writer has seen stevedores fussing around with worn out nets 
(good enough for light cargo) and wasting valuable time. Such 
work makes hold duty interesting and also adds a lot of valuable 
data to an officer’s note book. 

XX 

Rats and Cargo 

The old adage about the rats leaving a sinking ship, brings a 
sort of friendly feeling to the minds of many with regard to these 



































STOWAGE 


295 


ancient rodent voyagers. If there are plenty of rats on board, 
all is well, etc. The author is indebted to Mr. S. S. Rosen, 
General Manager of the Guarantee Exterminator Company, of 
New York, for the data given in this section of the chapter on 
Stowage. 

A rat consumes its weight in food every week. 

Rats spoil more cargo than they consume. 

Rats increase at an alarming rate—the figures are almost 
unbelievable. Dr. Rucker, Assistant Surgeon General of the 
U. S. Public Health Service has computed the actual increase of a 
pair of rats for five years at 940,369,969,152, assuming, of course, 
that we organized a special truck and carting service to bring in 
their food, and passed and obeyed a few hundred laws against 
killing rats. But, with this in mind, it is no wonder that they 
appear numerous and grow rapidly in places such as ships’ holds 
when they are often left alone. 

The Bureau of Biological Survey tells a lot about the rat that 
has nothing to do with cargo directly, but we understand from 
their learned report that the rat is a first-class pest and carries 
practically all diseases, many of them fatal to man. 

Out of 46,000 bags of grain a steamer recently lost 40,000 
bags on a twenty-nine-day voyage due to the depredations of 
rats. Flour is a favorite food with rats. Rats wallow in the 
flour and from time to time shake themselves free from it, 
filling the cargo with germs. Cargo partly touched by rats 
should be condemned. It is a total loss. 

Fire risk. Rats add greatly to the fire risk on board ship. 
They collect oily rags, and form nests where spontaneous com¬ 
bustion may take place. Use rat guards — Fumigate. 

XXI 

Refrigerating Ships 

Vessels with one or more holds or compartments lined, and 
insulated and fitted with refrigerating machinery* are now very 

* “ Operations of a refrigerating machine. Apparatus designed for re¬ 
frigerating is based upon the following series of operations: 

Compress a gas or vapor by means of some external force (the compressor), 
then relieve it of its heat so as to diminish its volume further (cooling coils 
circulating sea water through hot compressed gas), next, cause this com- 


296 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


common. Such vessels are used mainly for the carriage of 
frozen and chilled meat. 

Insulated compartments are constructed by bolting wooden 
furring pieces to the framing. One-inch tongued and grooved 
planking is placed inside the shell plating on two by two studs, 
leaving a two-inch air space; eight to ten inches inside of this, 



Freezing pipes in a refrigerating hold . 

a wall is built up of two layers of tongued and grooved plank, 
the one next the furring pieces %" thick and the covering 1" 
thick. The space between is filled with the insulating material. 
Sheet zinc is used for a lining inside of plank next shell plates. 

Underdeck insulation is placed against the deck without the 
air space. 

pressed gas or vapor to expand so as to produce mechanical work and thus 
lower the temperature of surrounding brine (brine coils). The absorption of 
heat from the brine when the gas or vapor resumes its original volume consti¬ 
tutes the refrigerating effect of the apparatus.—Adapted from Kent’s Mechan¬ 
ical Engineer's Pocket Book. 

Air, ammonia, sulphur-dioxide, carbonic acid gas (C0 2 ), are among the 
agents used for mechanical refrigeration. 








STOWAGE 


297 


Flooring over tank tops is placed between two casings of two 
and a half inch tongued and grooved plank. The strength 
being required to support the cargo to be carried. In chill rooms, 
where beef is hung, means must be provided for the hanging of 
hooks and chains from the beams above. 

Insulating materials generally used are as follows: 

Charcoal, silicate of cotton, or slagwool, granulated cork, 
pumice, sawdust and balsa wood. For small refrigerating spaces 
felt and cow hair are sometimes used. This material was used 
in some of the storage spaces on the older interned German 
liners and was evil-smelling stuff when ripped out. 

Charcoal is highly combustible, and absorbs odors. 

Balsa wood is coming into use as an insulating material. The 
following data is supplied by the American Balsa Company: 

Balsa possesses a high insulating efficiency, comparing about 
equally with cork, and it has the advantage that the encysting 
and water-proofing treatment causes it, by the exclusion of 
dampness, to retain its insulating qualities indefinitely and 
preserves it against rot and the attacks of insects and bacteria. 

Though only recently in use for this purpose, balsa has already 
been employed as the insulating material for the refrigerated 
spaces on about fifty ships, including fourteen of the new 535 ft. 
passenger-and-cargo vessels now being completed for the U. S. 
Shipping Board (1920). 

Added advantages over other high-grade manufacturing 
materials are its combined strength and light weight, and the 
saving of labor and of the greater part of the usual supplementary 
material required for installation, such as sheathing and water¬ 
proof paper. 

Balsa for insulation is supplied in sections up to 24 in. x 8 ft. 
x 3 in., cut to the required sizes, each section separately water¬ 
proofed. The sections are made up of individual pieces of 
balsa dovetailed by special machinery to form solid, airtight 
planks. These large sections are erected in one or a very few 
thicknesses. The relatively small number of shiplap joints are 
practically air-tight, thereby reducing the required number of 
layers of water-proof paper from the now usual twelve, to one 
or two. 


298 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Where lower holds are insulated trunk hatches are usually 
fitted and these are insulated also and provided with removable 
brine coils under hatches. 



Brine coils under hatches. 


Frozen cargo. This requires a temperature of 15 degrees F. 
and usually includes the following, sheep, poultry, fish, butter, 
milk. The contents of the hold is frozen solid. Stowage is close. 
Sheep carcases admit of air circulation through their centers. 

Chilled cargo. This requires a temperature ranging from 
29 degrees F. to 42 degrees F. 

Beef and other large meats are carried at 29 degrees F. and 
must be hung from the deck above so as to allow a free circu¬ 
lation of cold air. 

Eggs require a temperature of 33 degrees F. 

Tinned meats and fruits require a temperature of 38 degrees F. 

Beer and wine are carried in a temperature of 42 degrees F. 

General remarks. Officers in charge of refrigerator ships 
should take the time to learn the details of their operation. The 
master should at all times know the condition of the refrigerating 
plant, and should require full information.* Cases have recently 

* Two hundred and fifty quarters of frozen beef are reported to have been 
damaged on the steamer Muscatine because of the brine pipes being out of 
order, which occurred while the vessel was bound from Buenos Aires. 

Oct. 25, 1920. 

This is a moderate case. When a refrigerator ship breaks down in a 
tropical port with a full cargo the story is different. The Polar Sea disaster is 
still remembered. 











STOWAGE 


299 


occurred where heavy losses have been suffered through the 
breaking down of the cold storage system with cargoes of valu¬ 
able meats thrown on an inadequate market in tropical ports. 

Proper care and use of the refrigerating plant will result in 
saving and comfort for those on board. The chambers should 
be kept sealed, and cold storage rooms for ship’s use should 
only be unlocked once a day under proper supervision. 

The American Bureau of Shipping requires that the machine 
room is to be efficiently ventilated and drained; it is to be 
effectively separated from the insulated spaces by watertight 
plating. 

The insulation of the containing walls and floors and all metal 
which might otherwise come in contact with the cargo is to be 
complete and the insulating material in thoroughly efficient 
condition. Full particulars of the nature and construction of the 
insulation are to be reported to the Bureau’s Committee and 
approved. 

All pipes, trunks, etc., in insulated spaces are to be well 
placed, secured and protected from risk of damage from cargo. 
All bilge suction, sounding and air pipes which pass through 
insulated spaces are to be properly insulated, and bilge suctions 
from the engine room are to be fitted with non-return valves. 

All thermometer tube flanges and covers are to be of brass and 
arranged so that water cannot enter and freeze in the tubes. 

Sluice valves should not be fitted in bulkheads of insulated 
spaces, and if fitted are to have brass non-return valves and are 
to be accessible at all times. 

Provision is to be made for the ready examination of the 
bilges, rose boxes, etc., and it is recommended that the bottoms, 
sides and coamings of all hatches and limbers be varnished. 

Cargo battens are to be fastened to the sides and bottom of all 
insulated cargo spaces before shipping the cargo to be refriger¬ 
ated. The battens on the bottom are to be at least 2" by 2", 
and those on the sides by 2" by 1%"> while their spacing is to 
be about 12". 

The refrigerating machinery is to be of approved construction 
and of sufficient power to maintain the required temperature in 
the cargo spaces when in tropical climates and with the machines 
running 18 hours per day. Duplex or duplicate machines are to 



300 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


be fitted where the refrigerated spaces have a greater capacity 
than 70,000 cubic feet. Upon completion the machinery is to 
be tested under working conditions, the time and fall of tempera¬ 
ture being noted. After the spaces are considered to be properly 
refrigerated the machinery should be stopped for at least two 
hours, or two and a half hours with a brine installation, and a 
note taken of the rise in temperature at the end of the period of 
stoppage. 

Spare gear is to be supplied as required and is to be stowed 
where readily accessible. Where two sections or compartments 
are each cooled by machines of the same pattern only one set of 
spare gear will be required. Where two machines are fitted, 
each being capable of keeping the whole of the refrigerated 
spaces at the required temperature in tropical climates, when 
running 18 hours per day, no spare parts will be required, pro¬ 
vided all similar parts are interchangeable. 

Brine and water circulating pumps should be in duplicate, or 
there should be independent connections to auxiliary pumps. 
Spare piston rings, pump valves and rods, for independent pumps, 
should be carried. 

When the air, circulating, and feed pumps are all worked by 
one independent engine and there are no independent connec¬ 
tions to the main engine pumps, the following additional spare 
gear is to be carried. 

1 piston rod, complete, of each pattern. 

1 set piston rings of each pattern for steam cylinders. 

1 eccentric strap and rod of each pattern. 

1 slide valve spindle, complete, of each pattern. 

1 set connecting rod and crosshead bolts and nuts. 

A sufficient supply of spare liquid and calcium chloride is to 
be carried to ensure an ample margin for any leakage in the 
refrigerating plant during the voyage. 

All brine regulating valves are to be fitted outside the insulated 
spaces so as to be accessible without entering these spaces. 

Before the Certificate of Survey is issued all the insulation is to 
be carefully examined and tested for dryness and fullness and 
all test holes subsequently closed. All limbers and hatches are 
to be removed, the limbers cleared, and the suctions, sluices 
and sounding pipes examined. All hatches, trunks, ther- 


STOWAGE 


301 


mometer tubes, ventilator coamings, and deck connections are to 
be examined, and water-tight doors to be worked. Where brine 
may escape to the bilges, the cement is to be examined at each 
survey. 

It is recommended that the machinery be examined and tested 
at a home port, before the cargo is fully discharged, but in all 
cases all parts of the refrigerating machinery, pumps, steam and 
water pipes, condensers, coolers, coils and connections, brine 
pipes and tanks are to be opened out and examined, and the 
condensers, coolers, coils and brine pipes tested if considered 
necessary; in the case of condensers containing iron or steel 
coils, the coils are to be withdrawn from the casing and tested 
at intervals of not more than four years; corroded parts should 
be tinned or otherwise made good; the coils are to be scraped, 
cleaned and painted with good anti-corrosive paint. The 
machinery is to be afterwards tested under working conditions. 

A further survey is to be made at the port of shipment of the 
cargo to be refrigerated, in order to ascertain that the dunnage 
battens are in good order, that the insulation has not sustained 
damage since the home port survey, and also to test the re¬ 
frigerating machinery under working conditions, the temperature 
in the holds being noted. 

At ports where the services of a Surveyor to the Society are 
not available, a report of survey by a reliable, practical Surveyor 
will be accepted by the Committee, or if such*a Surveyor is not 
available, they will accept a report of survey made by two com¬ 
petent Engineers of the Vessel. 

Ventilation; Fruit—Oranges, Lemons. The ventilation of 
cargo spaces is becoming more thoroughly understood. Forced 
draft ventilation is perhaps the best for certain kinds of cargo. 
Fruit cargoes, shipped green will heat rapidly and decay unless 
well ventilated. Bananas are carried in racks on their sides the 
bunches and foliage together. Great care and experience is 
needed in the handling of this fruit, and vessels in the trade are 
specially fitted for it. Oranges and lemons are packed in boxes. 
Where stowed together place lemons on bottom, being heavier. 

Bananas. The carriage of bananas has become a highly 
specialized business. Vessels are loaded and unloaded by con¬ 
veyors, generally through large side ports or over the deck 
through hatches. The fruit steamers are usually painted white. 


302 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


William Fawcett, in the “ The Banana, Its Cultivation, Dis¬ 
tribution and Commercial Uses,” gives this description of the 

general arrangement of the 
SS. Barranca , one of the 
ships which carry United Fruit 
Company’s bananas to Eur¬ 
ope: 

“ The refrigerating machin¬ 
ery and cooling appliances 
are in deck-houses on the 
upper deck, thus leaving the 
spaces below as clear as 
possible for the cargo. There 
are three decks for fruit 
forward and aft respectively, 
and each deck has a run of 
about 130 feet between bulk¬ 
heads, making six fine cham¬ 
bers, each taking about 10,000 
large bunches, the total of 60,000 being about three times the 
number carried by the Port Morant> which initiated the service 
in 1901. 

“ The fruit comes on board within a few hours of cutting, and 
is stored without covering of any kind, the lowest bunches being 
arranged with the stems vertical, with a final layer placed hori¬ 
zontally, this giving the best results both in utilizing space and 
freedom from damage. Every cargo space is divided into bins 
by portable horizontal sparring fitted into vertical posts, thus 
checking the movement of the fruit in rough weather. Sparred 
gratings are laid on the steel decks to carry the fruit clear of the 
plating, and to allow the air to circulate below and up through 
the fruit. The ship’s sides and bulkheads and the highest and 
lowest decks are insulated with granulated cork and wood 
boardings, forming a complete envelope about seven inches 
thick. Along each side trunks conveying the cool air are formed 
by boarding, in which are a number of openings fitted with ad¬ 
justable slides, and spaced at suitable intervals and levels. 

“ Powerful fans of the centrifugal type, arranged in pairs and 
coupled with electric motors, draw the air from the fruit chambers 
through the suction chambers on one side, pass it over closely 
nested brine piping, thereby cooling and drying it, and returning 
it through the delivery trunks on the opposite side. The cooler 
pipes are electrically welded into grid form, there being no 
screwed joints except those on the headers, the brine flow being 
regulated by valves controlling a number of separate groups of 
grids. The cooling surface is properly proportioned to the 
work to be done, and the cooler with its fans is completely insu- 




STOWAGE 


303 


lated. Ventilators are provided, enabling the air in the fruit 
spaces to be changed in as few minutes as may be found desir¬ 
able from time to time, the fresh air passing through the cooler 
before reaching the fruit, and the vitiated air being discharged 
to the atmosphere. The brine pumps are of the vertical duplex 
type, two in number, either one capable of performing the full 
duty in emergency. 

“ The machines and fans are run during the last day or so 
of the outward voyage to cool down the spaces in readiness to 
receive the fruit. Stowage is rapid, owing to the use of power- 
driven conveyors, and discharges even more rapid, some of the 
fruit in the square of the hatches being stowed in special cribs, 
which are lifted out by the ship’s derricks immediately the 
hatches are off, leaving space for the discharging elevators, 
which are promptly lowered into position. During the first two 
days of the homeward voyage the plant is run continuously to 
extract the sun heat from the fruit and to retard ripening. The 
condition of the fruit is kept under close observation, tempera¬ 
tures being taken at regular intervals day and night, the captain, 
assisted by the ship’s officers—all carefully trained men— 
personally attending to these duties. After a few days at sea 
the temperatures are generally well in hand, and care then has 
to be taken to avoid the risk of chilling, the machine being slowed 
down, and probably one of the compressors disconnected, just 
sufficient power being developed to maintain the temperature at 
about 55° F.” 


Pumps—Bilges—Rose Boxes 

A vessel having frozen holds is liable to have her bilge suctions 
freeze up and in the event of a leak, or a collision, be unable to 
pump out the refrigerator compartments. This might even 
happen in very warm weather, so far as the outside temperature 
is concerned. The following requirements from the A.B.S. Rules 
cover this possible condition. 

All pipes, trunks, etc., in insulated refrigerator spaces are to be 
well placed, secured and protected from risk of damage from 
cargo. All bilge suction, sounding, and air pipes which pass 
through insulated refrigerator spaces are to be properly msu- 
lated, and bilge suctions from the engine room are to be fitted 

with non-return valves. - -. 

All thermometer tube flanges and covers are to be of brass and 
arranged so that water cannot enter and freeze in the tubes. 

Sluice valves should not be fitted m bulkheads of insulate 
spaces, and if fitted are to have brass non-return valves and are 

to be accessible at all times. ... 

Provision is to be made for the ready exammaUon of the bilges 
rose boxes, etc., and it is recommended that the bottoms, side 
and coamings of all hatches and limbers be varnished. 


II 


304 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


XXII 

Ore Carriers 





"<o 

-C 


£ 

K 

<3 

O 

>- 

O 

«o 

<3 




Ore Cargoes . Ves¬ 
sels designed for the 
carriage of ore, as in 
the Great Lakes grade, 
have specially designed 
holds and hatchways ad¬ 
mitting of exceptionally 
rapid loading and dis¬ 
charging. In fact the 
mechanical handling of 
this sort of cargo has 
reached a high state of 
perfection in the lake 
ore ports, and is now 
being adopted on the 
Atlantic seaboard with 
increasing satisfaction. 

The ore unloaders are 
now designed to handle 
as much as eight hun¬ 
dred tons per hour. Ris¬ 
ing labor costs and the 
striving for more rapid 
turn around is working 
wonders toward the use 
of heavy machinery for 
this kind of cargo hand¬ 
ling. 

The many hatches 
shown in the photograph, 
and further illustrated 
on the succeeding pages, 
enable these machines 
to work with maximum 
efficiency. 50 seconds is 
required for the bucket 
































































































































STOWAGE 


305 


to dip into the hold pick up 17 tons of ore or 8 tons of coal, lift 
it clear of the hold, slide back and drop it into cars, or hoppers, 
and again return for another “ bite ” of the cargo. 



A battery of fifteen ton Hulett Automatic Ore Unloaders at work in the 
hatches of a Great Lakes ore carrier. 


Mr. H. T. Simmons, Chief Engineer of the Wellman-Seaver- 
Morgan Co. of Cleveland, manufacturers of the Hulett unloading 
machines has kindly supplied me with operation data and this 
and the succeeding photograph. 

Only two men are required for the entire operation of one of 
these machines. One of the operators, whose station is in the 
bucket leg directly over the bucket shells, controls all of the 
motions of raising and lowering the bucket, of traveling the 
trolley back and forth, and moving the machine along the dock 
from one hatch to another. The second operator is stationed 
in a cab on the larry* and from this station he controls the move¬ 
ment of the larry, the operation of the larry gates, and the 
weighing of the ore. 

Some idea of the capacities of unloading by this method may 
be derived from a record which was made in Ashtabula by eight 
machines of this type, having a capacity of fifteen tons each, 
unloading seven boats having a total capacity of 70,000 tons in 

* The weighing car into which the oar is dumped by the bucket. The larry 
weighs the ore as it transports it. 






306 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


twenty-two hours’ actual time. At other points, four machines 
working in boats having capacities up to 13,000 tons have un¬ 
loaded these cargoes in about three hours and twenty-five 
minutes. 

In addition to the vertical movement, which is given to the 
bucket leg by means of the walking beam, it also has a motion 
of rotation around its vertical axis. This motion is introduced 



Buckets cleaning up in hold of a lake vessel. Note man in bucket leg. 


to enable the machine to reach along the keel of the boat and 
clean up ore between hatches. The distance from point to point 
of bucket shells when open is approximately twenty-one feet. 
About 97 per cent of the ore is removed from the hold without 
hand labor. 

The machines are all operated by electric power. Machines 
are also being used on the Atlantic Coast. 

Records of fifty machines in operation indicate that this type 
of machine will handle ore at 2% to 4Vfe cents per ton, including 
all fixed charges, and records of as high as 783 tons of ore per 
hour per machine from tie-up to cast-off of boat have been made. 

















STOWAGE 


307 


Ore and coal is loaded by lifting the car and turning it over 
sliding the ore into the hold. Dumping direct from car to ship 
saves breakage. 

Where vessels are not specially designed for the carriage of 
ore a cargo in a four-hold vessel can usually be stowed in a very 
satisfactory manner by the following method: 

Run ore into the middle holds, No. 2 and No. 3, then trim the 
vessel for sea with No. 1 and No. 4. 

If a vessel is well constructed she will suffer no straining from 
this method of loading. Where no cargo is carried, other than 
the ore, a trunk should be built up in the lower No. 2 and No. 3, 
or a certain amount of the cargo should be carried in the ’tween 
decks of these hatches. 

The weights should be kept fairly well up and back from the 
ends, making the vessel less crank in bad weather with a beam 
sea. By trimming back from the ends, fore and aft, the vessel 
will be more sea kindly when meeting a head sea or running 
before a sea aft, or on the quarter. 

Ore cargoes present certain difficulties and before taking ore 
on board, especially in a foreign port, the master will do well to 
find out its characteristics. 

Certain sulphur ores are subject to a process of kiln drying 
and are liable to fire and as the ore contains a large proportion 
of sulphuric acid, water played on the cargo will not always quench 
the fire and may cause the loss of the vessel. (See page 755). 

The greatest care must be taken in arranging for cargoes of 
this kind in foreign ports. In the very excellent work on Sea¬ 
manship by the late Captains Todd and Whall the following 
incident is cited: 

“ The writer once, many years ago, was coming from Huelva, 
bound to the river Tyne with a cargo of mineral. In the No. 1 
hold was placed 160 tons of such mineral described as above. 
When nearing our destination off Flamborough Head this 160 
tons was discovered to be a mass of fire. Water was freely 
poured down on it, with the effect that it kept the ship’s deck 
and upper works from breaking into a blaze, and placed a dark 
crust over the mineral on fire. But that was all, it did not 

quench the fire. . . 

“ The mineral was afterwards discharged on fire into iron 
lighters, and burnt itself out on shore. Unfortunately for the 


308 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


vessel, the water poured down on the mineral had circulated 
through her ballast tanks to the engine-room, where it was 
pumped out by the donkey ballast pump. This water, being 
highly charged with sulphuric acid, attacked all iron with which 
it came in contact, the result being that chemical action took 
place in all iron in the ship’s bottom unprotected by cement, and 
caused serious deterioration to many of her plates, floors, and 
tank divisions, which cost a round sum of money to replace. 
Therefore, before any vessel ships kiln-dried mineral of the 
above description, fire should be warily guarded against. Whole 
cargoes of such mineral are seldom shipped, and when packages 
of it are carried it should be bedded on other mineral, and 
isolated from the sides of the vessel. This mineral is shipped 
in small bags containing about 100 lbs. each.” 

Cargo liable to absorb gases should not be placed near holds 
containing ore. The temperature of hold loaded with ore should 
be taken regularly and surface ventilation should be resorted to. 
In general, the rules for the care of coal cargo will apply to 
cargoes of ore. 

The danger of ore shifting is very great. Where trunks are 
built up of empty barrels (a poor practice) the collapse of the 
trunk may mean the loss of the vessel. A shifting ore cargo is 
about the worst proposition to be met with at sea. 

Trunks. The construction of trunks, in single-hold vessels, 
and in the large holds of steamers or motor vessels should be 
most carefully provided for, with extra heavy bracing and ceiling.* 

The Cyclops. The following extract from a paper by Lieu¬ 
tenant Commander Mahlon S. Tisdale, U. S. Navy, printed in 
the Proceedings, U. S. Naval Institute, sheds some interesting 
side lights on the possible fate of the U. S. Collier Cyclops one 
of the unsolved mysteries of the World War. The Cyclops was 
carrying a cargo of manganese ore. 

After describing the custom of keeping the topside tank man- 

* A recent development in the field of ocean-going ore carriers is the 
combination of ore and coal carriers, fitted for either kind of cargo, and the 
combination of ore and oil, that is, a tanker with expansion trunks in the 
wings, and ore trunk amidship. 

Such vessels have been designed by Mr. Hugo P. Frear, naval architect, 
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. 

Of course they do not carry both cargoes at the same time. Two of each 
of this type are under construction, D.W. tonnage about 20,000. 


STOWAGE 


309 


hole openings uncovered, Commander Tisdale draws the fol¬ 
lowing conclusions: 


“ Now let us take the case of the Cyclops on her ill-fated 
voyage of last year when she was lost. She was carrying 
manganese ore (according to newspaper reports we received 
abroad at the time). Due to the great weight per cubic foot of 
this ore as compared to coal it is probable that her cargo holds 
were loaded by weight and not by volume and were therefore 
far from full. Perhaps the cargo was braced to prevent shifting— 
but this would have required very strong braces, far beyond the 
capacity of the ship’s carpenter. Unless these braces were 
installed at the loading port they were probably not installed 
at all. Now the matter sizes up as follows: 

“ The ship was heavily loaded—hence deep in the water with a 
correspondingly small freeboard—but her holds were not full by 
volume. 

“ It was customary to leave the manhole plates off the topside 
tanks according to the statement of the captain (she had the 
same captain when I made my cruise on her as she had when 
she was lost) in order to ‘ preserve the bitumastic.’ 

“ Due to her load her sea connections from the topside tanks 
were probably submerged. These were in the skin of the ship 
and led from the bottom of the tank. 

“ In any sort of a storm it was always customary in the colliers, 
due to their liveliness and to their great amount of top hamper, 
to secure everything for sea. I have seen even the huge iron 
sister-blocks which are shackled to the fore and aft girder, 
lashed together to prevent pounding. 

“ Is it not plausible to assume that the cargo may have shifted, 
perhaps only a little, but enough to increase the average list 
sufficiently to cause the free water in the double bottoms to 
rush toward the down side thus further increasing the list? 
Suppose the heavily laden Cyclops now shipped a sea. Would 
not this sea run into the open manholes of the topside tanks 
and immediately give the ship a tendency to capsize? 

“ This could all occur in a few seconds and the ship would be 
bottom up before any one could abandon ship. Some few men 
from the bridge and poop might have been thrown clear of the 
ship. But with everything secured for sea there would be little 
wreckage. Remember that there would be nothing adrift except 
such gear as would be free to float off during the few seconds 
during the turn. There would be no debris such as always 
follows a sinking due to other marine casualty, as in the case ot 
striking a mine or torpedo. There would have been no tune for 
an ‘ S. O. S.’ There would have been no time for anything. 
The few men in the water could not have lived long of their own 


310 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


accord. Such small gear as did float off would have been lost in 
the vastness of the ocean long before the rescue vessels started 
their search. 

“ This seems to me a plausible solution of the loss of the 
Cyclops. Of course it is only a theory based upon several 
assumptions, some of which may be faulty. As several officers 
have said, ‘ Yours seems to be the only plausible theory,’ it 
occurred to me that the service as a whole might be interested. ,, 

Caution. When an exceptionally high rate of freight is being 
offered for an ore* cargo, or any other unknown cargo, be very 
careful and obtain all particulars with regard to its characteristics. 

The precaution as to lines, berth, etc., should be observed 
when ore is being rapidly loaded or unloaded by machinery. 

XXIII 

Carriage of Coal 

Coal. The stowage and ventilation of coal cargoes is of the 
utmost importance. No cargo of coal can be thoroughly ven¬ 
tilated throughout its bulk and at present the practice is to make 
use of surface ventilation alone, having two ventilators in each 
hold, an intake and an uptake, one cowl into the wind and one 
cowl away from the wind, keeping them trimmed properly at all 
times. 

The following questions and answers from a pamphlet by Mr. 
H. H. Stoek “ The Safe Storage of Coal ” published by The 
Department of The Interior, Washington, D. C., are of interest 
in connection with the stowage of coal cargoes: 

Prevention of Heating of Stored Coal 

“ What is the cause of spontaneous combustion? It seems 
due to an oxidation of the coal surface. This generates heat. 
If the heat is not dissipated, the temperature will continue to 
rise. The oxidation is more rapid at increased temperatures, 
so that the process is self-aggravating. A temperature may 
finally be reached where the coal is afire. 

“ How may heating be detected? By the odor given off from 
the pile or by thrusting iron rod into the pile and feeling them 
with the hand, or by a thermometer Steam should not be 
confused with smoke, for water vapor coming out of the pile in 
winter time may produce visible steam when there is no appre¬ 
ciable heating within the pile. Temperature tests with an iron 


STOWAGE 


311 


rod should be made if possible; actual temperature determina¬ 
tions should be made with any suitable type of thermometer. 

“ What temperature is dangerous? When the temperature 
rises above 140° F., the pile should be carefully watched. If it 
rises rapidly to 150° or 160° steps should be taken to move the 
coal and cool off the heated part. 

“ What is the best way to stop heating which has started? 
The best way is to move the coal as quickly as possible to a place 
where it can cool off. It should be allowed to become thoroughly 
cooled before replacing it in storage, or, better still, used at once 
and not returned to storage. 

“ Can heating be stopped by putting water upon the pile? 
Only if the water is applied in quantities sufficient to extinguish 
the fire and cool the mass. The water must reach the point at 
which heating occurs, for it can do little good if the stream is 
played only on the surface of the pile. Most bituminous coal 
cokes on heating, and a shell of tarry material forms about the 
hot spot, which prevents the water reaching it. To be sure that 
the water reaches the burning coal, it usually is necessary to dig 
into the pile and turn it over. Generally it is better to move the 
coal and not depend on water. 

“Does time have any effect on the heating of coal? Three 
fourths of the coal fires studied have occurred within 90 days 
after the coal was placed in storage. Oxidation is most rapid 
on a freshly broken surface. 

“ What effect has sulphur on the heating of coal? Oxidation 
of the pyrite in the coal also produces heat and assists in breaking 
up the lumps and thus increases the amount of fine coal in the 
pile. Rise in temperature, either from external or internal causes 
promotes the oxidation of pyrite and thus increases the liability 
of the coal to spontaneous combustion. It is wise to select low- 
sulphur coals for storage if these are procurable; but it must 
not be taken for granted that a low-sulphur coal will necessarily 
store well, or that a high-sulphur coal will fire in storage. 

“ Is it bad practice to mix different kinds of coal in storage? 
Such mixing is generally believed to be bad practice, but there 
seems to be no logical basis for the belief except in so far as 
mixing may produce conditions within the pile that tend to 

What precautions prevent spontaneous combustion? Avoid 
storing fine coal. Store screened nut and lump. Avoid external 
sources of heat, such as steam pipes, warm flues, and boiler 
settings. Avoid making fresh broken surfaces in handling the 

“ Avoid foreign combustible matter which may itself spon¬ 
taneously heat, such as oily rags, paper, waste, etc. 

“ Avoid sticks and timbers in the pile, as these, surrounde 


312 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


by coarser coal, form ducts or flues that concentrate the warm 
currents from the coal below.” 

In connection with the carriage of coal, it is well to remember 
that the master is held responsible for the proper ventilation of 
the cargo, and any fault through this neglect will react upon him. 

As cargoes loaded in wet weather will loose from 2*/^ to 3% 
of their weight, the necessary excess weight on the bill of lading 
weight should be insisted upon under these conditions, other¬ 
wise the cargo will be delivered short of the called for amount. 

Where coal is loaded in a lower hold, partly filled, stout shifting 
boards should be fitted at the midship stanchions. Great care 
must also be taken with the limbers and the pump wells, all 
chance of clogging must be guarded against. 

Temperature. A pipe with perforated end, preferably two of 
them, should be let down into the body of the coal and ther¬ 
mometers lowered each watch and temperature recorded. Coal 
is supposed to absorb twice its own volume of oxygen in ten days, 
and this is most rapid on a freshly broken surface. 

Coal dust. Special care should be taken to prevent the dam¬ 
age of other cargo by coal dust. After a hold has been used for 
coal, special care should be taken in cleaning it for the next cargo. 
The bilges should be completely free from the dust. 

Never close up ventilators leading to a coal hold to keep down 
the dust. 

Never enter a coal hatch with an open light. 

Uptakes. The heels of steel masts and king posts, some¬ 
times fitted with a ventilating uptake, should be closed before 
stowing coal. Every possible point of uptake , should be stopped 
off. Where H section hold pillars are fitted see that no dunnage 
boards are in place about them forming possible flues from the 
bottom of the coal cargo. 

Bunkering. This may be either coal or oil, both, or a com¬ 
bination product of coal dust and oil called colloidal fuel. 

Coal bunkering is the most common and is carried on in a 
number of different ways.* 

Mechanical bunkering arrangements are provided in most 
ports and the coal is shot into the bunker hatches and trimmed 
by the black squad. 

* 43 cu. ft. = 1 ton of bunker coal (bituminous). 


STOWAGE 


313 


Coal may be taken from lighters, as at Coronel, Chili, using 
the ships winches, special cargo booms, or pendants and spans. 

Coal may be carried on board by coolies, as in the East Indies, 
or by negroes as in the West Indies. Or it may be passed up 
on stages in small baskets lifted from hand to hand as in Japan 
and China. This is a very rapid way of coaling and involves no 



Coaling S.S. Texan at Yokohama. 

The women carry their babies on their backs while coaling. 


special effort on the part of the ship except to see the lighters 
shifted, if in the stream, and to keep them clear of gangway and 
propellors. 

Oil fuel and colloidal fuel is pumped on board through a hose. 

Carrying of Coals on Deck for Use as Bunker Coal, from Ports 
North of Hatteras to Ports South of that Latitude 

Board of Underwriters, N. Y. 

Steamers of the three (3) deck rule and spar deck vessels are 
permitted where the stability and spare buoyancy are guaran¬ 
teed, to carry during the winter months, October 1st to April 1st, 
eight (8) or ten (10) per cent, of their net register tonnage of coal 
on deck for consumption during the voyage. V' *; 

Well deck steamers. If the coal is carried on the raised 
quarter deck the amount is not to exceed seven (7) per cent, of 
the net register tonnage, but if stowed over the bunkers, on the 
bridge deck, the amount not to exceed five (5) per cent, of the 
net registeredjonnage. 








314 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Bulwarks to be ceiled up leaving a clear water course to the 
scuppers and other openings. Steering gear to be free of any 
obstructions. 

Sufficient coal to be put in bags to secure the ends and cover the 
loose coal; the same not to be higher than the rail. 

Where suitable bins are provided of a moderate size the coal 
in bags may be omitted. 

Grain laden vessels are not permitted to carry coal on deck 
beyond sufficiency to carry them to the open sea. 

Vessels other than those described to be submitted to the 
Loading Committee. 



Hoisting coal on board at Coronet , Chili, using canvas slings. 

XXV 

The Michener Coaling and Trimming Gear 

This apparatus is designed to reduce to a minimum the dis¬ 
agreeable features of supplying ships with bunker coal and to 
eliminate, to a large degree, the employment of men in the actual 
handling of the coal. 





STOWAGE 


315 



The mechanism falls into two divisions, the first the transfer 
of the coal from the coaling lighter alongside to the coal-port 
of the ship. The second the stowage of the coal in the bunkers 
after it has been delivered through the coal-port. 

The mechanism for the first division comprises: 

The Michener Portable Elevator 

This machine is a self-contained portable, flexible-leg, two- 
way discharge, electrically driven and controlled device for rais- 


Fig. A. Coaling the S.S. George Washington. 

ing coal from a lighter alongside delivering it to the side-ports 
or deck-hatches of a ship. In Photo A is shown four of these 
elevators at work on the side of a large liner. Each of the 
elevators is rigged to discharge into two hoppers at two coal- 
ports. The leg of the right hand elevator in the illustration is 
raised to permit the removal of an empty lighter and the replace¬ 
ment by a loaded one. 









316 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Referring to illustration B, the machine comprises a triangular 
head 2 which is hung to the ship’s side from ears 3, 3, and 
fended off by rolls 4. In this head is the driving mechanism 
including an electric motor, not shown, driving, through suitable 
reducing gearing, bucket chain main-shaft 6. The motor is 



connected by an insulated wire cable with a portable controller 
25 preferably located on the ship’s deck, and the controller is 
similarly connected with the source of power. 

Mounted for vertical movement through head 2 is leg 7, having 
at its upper and lower ends suitable sprockets 8 and 9, respec¬ 
tively, for the endless bucket chain 10. This chain carries a 































STOWAGE 


317 


series of buckets 11, 11, which, as the chain is driven down¬ 
wardly on the off side and upwardly on the near side, dig into 
the coal in the lighter, filling the buckets which travel upward 
over sprocket 13 and dump before reaching sprocket 14, into 
hopper 15. The hopper is provided with a two-way discharge 
nose 16, having a gate whereby the stream of coal may be 
divided and directed to both discharge openings of nose 16, 
or to either to the exclusion of the other. From these the 
coal descends by gravity down chute 19 into hopper 20 and so 



on through the coal-port into the ship’s bunker. As the buckets 
pass around the lower end of the leg, scooping up the coal, the 
pile of coal is correspondingly reduced and the elevator leg auto¬ 
matically descends so as to keep the buckets constantly in 
digging relation to the pile—compare the elevator of illustration B 
with the elevator of illustration C. 
























318 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The lower end of the leg, below the head, is provided with a 
telescopic cover which shows plainly in Photograph -4, and 
which opens out as the leg descends. The members of this 
telescopic cover are connected by chains, not shown, so they 
can never slide out of coacting relation. This cover and fixed 
cover 22 at the back of the leg prevent coal from falling out onto 
the men at work in the barge. 



The leg is raised from out of the barge when desired, as for 
replacing an empty barge with a loaded one, by means of gearing, 
not shown, but mounted on the elevator and operated by the 
elevator motor when the direction of drive of said motor is 
reversed by the operator through the controller on the ship’s 
deck. Illustration C shows the elevator hung from a rigging on 
the ship’s deck so as to discharge into a high port. Illustration D 
shows the Michener Elevator erected for over-deck coaling. 
This machine is delivering coal through chute 19 to a midship- 
hatch and thence into the lower hold. It will be understood 




















STOWAGE 


319 


that the coal can be diverted to any of the between-deck side 
spaces as required. 

When a ship at sea is approaching a port where coal is expected 
to be received by means of this apparatus the crew will have 
only to free the coal ports for opening, or in case of overdeck 
coaling, illustration £), to erect shears for the suspension of the 



E. The hunker trimmer discs. 

* 

elevator. Usually the elevators will be erected on the ship’s 
side from a barge having the necessary mast and boom for 
handling and erecting the elevators and for setting the hoppers 
at the coal ports. 

Directing attention now to the second division of the apparatus 
Photograph E shows a portion of an installation of 

The Michener Bunker Trimmer 
This apparatus is complementary to the Michener Elevator, 
which raises the coal from the barge alongside and delivers it to 



320 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 

the coal-port and thence into the bunker. The bunker trimmer 
is permanently installed in the ship’s bunker, is electrically 
driven and controlled and is efficient for distributing the coal, 
received through the coal-port, to the most remote portions of 
the bunker and for piling that coal up 
to substantially fill the bunker. 

The apparatus comprises a series of 
rotating discs 2, illustrations B and F , 
suspended from the deck beams of the 
bunker ceiling, and connected together 
and with the driving head 3 of the motor 
gearing by driving chain 4. The motor 
is preferably located near the principal 
hatch or port so as to be easy of access 
at all times and the controller, not shown, 
may be located at any convenient place 
in the bunker or just outside. The motor 
5 drives through its reducing gearing to 
disc 2a, and from that disc power is 
transmitted to the other discs in either 
direction. 

In illustration F is shown a plan view 
of one of the bunkers of a cargo ship of 
medium capacity. The dotted rectangles 
indicate the overhead hatches of the 
bunkers through which the coal is re¬ 
ceived. It will be noticed that some of 
the discs are arranged so that their peri¬ 
pheries come close to the hatch openings, in one instance there 
being three discs adjacent the hatch edge. It will also be no¬ 
ticed that the motor 5 is located near the principal hatch, so 
as to be easy of access at all times. 

As the coal falls through the hatches which have discs adjacent 
them, that coal piles up on the bunker floor, presently rising to 
the level of the discs and then crowds over onto the top faces of 
these discs. The motor is then started and these discs immedi¬ 
ately pass the coal on to the next succeeding disc, and from which 
disc it is scraped off by fixed plows , not shown, until the pile rises 
at that point sufficiently to be delivered to the next disc and so on 























STOWAGE 


321 


throughout the line. The small angular spaces in the upper 
corners of the bunkers illustration C may be left as they are, or, 
if it is desired to use every available cubic foot of bunker space, 
one or two men with shovels can quickly flatten out the angles of 
the pile and fill even the remotest corner with coal. 

It will be understood that the discs do not operate by centri¬ 
fugal force, throwing the coal off by their speed, but that they 
rotate slowly and the coal is scraped from their faces by the 
plows, to which reference has been made. These plows are of 
heavy sheet steel and about six inches high and each plow may 
be set at any desired location about the axis of the disc so as to 
spill the coal from the disc at any desired point. Where discs 
are arranged in sequence as shown, the plows are set so as to 
deliver the coal from disc to disc. Assuming that the coal is 
delivered first to that disc 2 a which gets its drive directly from 
the motor, the coal being received through the main hatch and 
all the discs being rotated in clockwise direction, such coal as lies 
near the periphery of that disc will encounter a plow, which will 
scrape a portion of the coal off onto the next adjoining disc above 
in the illustration. That disc will pass its load on, spilling most 
of it, until such time as the pile from the floor mounts sufficiently 
to form a wall, when that second disc will deliver to the third and 
so on to all the discs to the end of the series. One motor is 
shown in illustration driving seven discs. This is quite sufficient 
as it takes only about one half horse power per disc to operate 
the device. 

The efficient operation of the elevator in delivering coal from 
the barge to the coal port is governed by the rapidity with which 
the coal is removed from the vicinity of that port, inside the 
bunker. The trimming mechanism will handle up to 150 tons 
per hour delivered at any one coal port. Speed of coaling is 
governed by the number of ports, or hatches, that can be worked 
at one time. 


CHAPTER 10 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 

I 

Loading 

Where cattle is walked on board over gangways or brows * 
the matter of loading is simple and care is taken to portion them 
properly to stalls or pens. When animals are to be lifted on 
board from lighters great care must be taken 
in slinging. Horses and other heavy cattle 
can be lifted on board by a single whip and 
one boom, swinging the boom inboard by 
the guys as the animal comes over the side. 
It is often best to blindfold the animals if the 
ship’s side is high and they are lively. 

Slings are generally made of number 1 
canvas, roped, and fitted with breast and 
rump bridles in addition to the sling band 
terminating in stout loops of the sling strop 
sewn to the bands. 

Very valuable horses or cattle are often 
sent on board in a padded box, the horse 
being secured in the box and this carefully 
slung with a good guy rope attached to each 
end. 

Horned cattle are often lifted with a stout 
strap around the base of the horns. 

Horses are more liable to kick in lifting 
and should be slung with great care. 

Very valuable horses are carried in 
thwartship padded stalls. They are pro¬ 
tected from injury by slings made to hang 
six inches below their bellies when standing. These slings are a 
* Heavy gangways stretching from the ship to a dock. 

322 



Slinging cattle 





CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


323 


great help when the vessel is in a seaway and the animals rest 
their weight in the slings. 

Most countries have stringent laws governing the carriage of 
live stock. These rules should be obtained by a master before 
loading and strictly complied with. The regulations of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, prepared by the 
Bureau of Animal Industry, are very comprehensive and should 
be carefully studied by the master and mates of all vessels 
engaged in the carriage of horses and cattle. These regulations 
follow: 


II 

Regulations Governing the Inspection, Humane Handling, and 
Safe Transport of Export Animals 

General Provisions 

Regulation 1. Except as otherwise herein provided, no cattle, 
sheep, swine, or goats shall be exported from the United States 
to any foreign country, unless and until the same have been 
inspected and found free from disease or exposure thereto, by 
an inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry of this depart¬ 
ment. Unless the Secretary of Agriculture shall have waived 
the requirement of a certificate of inspection for the particular 
country to which such animals are to be exported no clearance 
shall be issued to any vessel carrying such animals, unless and 
until a certificate of inspection showing freedom from disease or 
exposure thereto shall have been issued by the Department of 
Agriculture. The requirement of a certificate for shipments of 
such animals to Cuba, the West Indies, Mexico, Central America, 
and the countries of South America, except Argentina, Uruguay, 
and Brazil, is hereby waived. 

Definition of Terms 

Regulation 2. Whenever in these regulations the following 
words, names, or terms are used, they shall be construed as 
follows: 

Inspector of port, inspector, assistant, employee. These 
terms shall mean, respectively, the inspector in charge of the 
Bureau of Animal Industry station at the port from which the 
animals are to be exported, and inspectors, assistants, and 
employees of the Bureau of Animal Industry. 

Lumber. This word, unless otherwise stated, shall mean 
hard pine, spruce, oak, or other hardwood. 


324 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Animals. This word refers to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats; 
also horses, unless it is inapplicable to them under Regulation 3. 

Horses. This word shall include generally mules and asses. 

Horses 

Regulation 3. Horses shall be entitled to the inspection pro¬ 
vided for in these regulations, and certificates shall be issued 
whenever required by the country to which the horses are to be 
exported, but horses may be shipped without inspection and 
certification, at shippers’ risk, to countries which do not demand 
such inspection and certification as a prerequisite to admission. 

Inspection and Shipment (Canadian Shipments) 

Regulation 4. Only animals found to be healthy and free 
from disease and shown not to have been exposed to the con¬ 
tagion of any disease shall be allowed shipment, and all animals 
inspected and passed shall be loaded into clean and disinfected 
cars. 

All dairy and breeding cattle must pass a satisfactory tuberculin 
test either by an inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry or 
by a duly authorized representative of the country to which the 
animals are to be exported. Animals for export to Canada will 
be inspected at any point the bureau may direct. All animals 
shipped on ocean steamers shall be inspected or reinspected at 
the port of export. Railroad companies will be required to 
furnish clean and disinfected cars for the transportation of 
animals for export, and the proprietors of the various stock- 
yards and stables located at the ports of export shall keep separ¬ 
ate, clean, and disinfected stockyards, and pens or stables for 
the use of export animals. 

Shipment of Animals on Ocean Steamers 
Places of Inspection 

Regulation 5. The inspection provided for animals shipped 
on ocean steamers will be made at any of the following-named 
stockyards: Chicago, Ill.; Kansas City, Mo.; Omaha, Nebr.; 
South St. Joseph, Mo.; National Stock Yards, Ill.; Indianapolis, 
Ind.; Buffalo, N. Y.; and Pittsburgh, Pa., and at the following 
ports of export: Portland, Me.; Boston, Mass.; New York, 
N. Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; Norfolk and New¬ 
port News, Va.; New Orleans, La.; and Galveston, Tex. 
Other ports may be designated in special cases by the Chief of 
the Bureau of Animal Industry. All animals will be inspected 
at ports of export, regardless of the fact that they may or may 
not have been inspected at the above-named stockyards. 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


325 


Identification of Animals and Notification of Shipment 

Regulation 6. Shippers shall notify the inspector in charge of 
the yards of intended shipments of animals and the number and 
designation of cars in which they are to be shipped, and shall 
inform said inspector of the locality from which said animals 
have been brought, and the name of the feeder of said animals, 
and shall furnish such other information as may be practicable 
for the proper identification of the place from which said animals 
have come. 

Regulation 7 . The inspector after passing said animals shall 
notify the inspector in charge of the port of export, and inspectors 
located at intermediate cities where the animals may be un¬ 
loaded for feeding and watering, of the inspection and shipment 
of such animals, the number and kind of animals shipped, and 
the numbers and designations of the cars containing them. 

Transportation from Yards to Steamers 

Regulation 8. Export animals shall not be unnecessarily 
passed over any highway or removed to cars or boats which are 
used for conveying other animals. Boats transporting said 
animals to the ocean steamer must first be cleansed and disin¬ 
fected under the supervision of the inspector of the port, and, 
before receiving said animals, the ocean steamer shall be 
thoroughly cleansed and disinfected in accordance with the 
directions of said inspector. When passage upon or across the 
public highway is unavoidable in the transportation of animals 
from the cars to the boat it shall be under such careful super¬ 
vision and restrictions as the inspector may direct. 

Animals not Allowed Shipment 

Regulation 9. Any animals that are offered for shipment to a 
foreign country which have not been inspected and transported 
in accordance with these regulations, or which, having been 
inspected, are adjudged to be infected or to have been exposed 
to infection so as to be dangerous to other animals or to be other¬ 
wise unfit for shipment, shall not be allowed upon any vessel for 
exportation. 


Supervision to Steamers—Clearance Papers 

Regulation 10. The supervision of the movement of animals 
from cars, yards, and stables to the ocean steamer at the port of 
export will be in charge of the inspector of the port. 

The inspector at the port of export shall notify the collector of 
the port, or his deputy, of the various shipments of animals that 
are entitled to clearance papers. 


326 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Notification to Inspectors of Intended Shipments on Steamers 

Regulation 11. The exporters of animals, the owner or agent, 
desiring to transport animals from any port of the United States 
to a foreign country shall notify the inspector in charge of the 
port from which said vessel is to clear, of such intended ship¬ 
ment at least two days in advance thereof, and if the regulations 
prescribed have been complied with, a clearance shall be author¬ 
ized by such inspector. 


Space on Vessels 

Regulation 12. Export animals must not be carried on any 
part of the vessel where they will interfere with the proper 
management of the vessel, or with the efficient working of the 
necessary lifeboats, or with the requisite ventilation of the vessel, 
and may be carried only as hereinafter specified. 

Cattle 

Regulation 13. Cattle must have 6 feet vertical space by not 
less than 8 feet in depth on all decks free of all obstructions. 
Cattle may, however, be placed on raised floors over pipes and 
other similar obstructions where the vertical space is not less 
than 5 feet 6 inches from under edge of beam overhead to 
flooring underfoot. Cattle over 850 pounds in weight must be 
allowed a space of 2 feet 6 inches in width by 8 feet in depth and 
no more than 4 head of such cattle will be allowed in each pen, 
except at the end of rows where five may be allowed together. 
Cattle of 850 pounds’ weight or less must be allowed a space 
of at least 2 feet in width by 8 feet in depth and 5 may be allowed 
in each pen. Calves and young stock or yearlings may be 
stowed at the discretion of the inspector. Cattle standing 
between stanchions, sounding tubes, ventilators, and other 
obstructions, though in continuous pens, must be allowed 3 feet 
in width. Cattle carried in crates or single stalls must be 
allowed not less than 3 feet in width by 8 feet in depth. Addi¬ 
tional space and separate stalls may be required by the inspector 
for large dairy and breeding cattle and for cows in advanced 
pregnancy. Large cows, in the discretion of the inspector, may 
be placed 3 in a pen of 10 feet in width by 8 feet in depth. Special 
permission for carrying cattle on the steerage deck must be 
obtained from the inspector and will be granted in cases where 
said deck is provided with sufficient ventilation as hereinafter 
prescribed. 

Sheep and Goats 

Regulation 14. The space for each sheep or goat shall be 4 feet 
long by 14 inches wide, and for lambs or goats under 100 pounds 
in weight 4 feet by 12 to 13 inches. 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


327 


Sheep pens shall not exceed 20 feet by 8 feet, where two tiers 
are carried, and each tier shall have a clear vertical space of 
not less than 3 feet. During the summer season sheep shall 
not be loaded in tiers under decks, but during the winter season 
two tiers may be placed in each wing and only one tier amid¬ 
ships. One single deck of sheep may be carried upon the roof 
over cattle when said roofs are permanently built and are com¬ 
posed of 2-inch tongue-and-groove boards, provided such sheep 
fittings do not conflict with Regulation 13. Sheep pens on roof 
of cattle fittings shall not exceed 12 feet in width and must be 
supplied with athwartship partitions every 14 feet. Such fittings 
shall be secured to roof of cattle fittings by placing outboard 
stanchions and bolting through both outboard stanchions with 
not less than three %-inch bolts. 

Stanchions for sheep pens must run up through cattle-fittings 
roof to the required height for the sheep pens. These stanchions 
shall not be less than 4 by 4 inches. Space for sheep and goats 
for breeding purpose shall be not less than 5 feet in length by 
20 inches in width. 

Swine 

Regulation 15. The space for swine not exceeding 150 pounds 
in weight shall be the same as that specified for breeding sheep 
and goats, and for those under 100 pounds in weight the same 
as for lambs and for goats of less than 100 pounds in weight. 
Additional space and suitable pens shall be required by the 
inspector for unusually large hogs or for swine for breeding 
purposes. 

Horses 

Regulation 16. All horses must have not less than 6 feet 
3 inches clear vertical space from beams of deck overhead to 
deck underfoot, and, so far as possible, shall be placed between 
the overhead athwartship beams. Each horse must be allowed 
a space 2 feet 6 inches in width by not less than 8 feet in depth. 
Division boards shall not be less than 2 by 9 inches and shall be 
of sound lumber, planed, upper corners rounded and placed 
horizontally between 2 horses, except that horses may be placed 
in pens of 4 each on application of owner or shipper. Additional 
space shall be required by the inspector for very large horses. 
The 8-foot depth of stalls for horses may be reduced to 7 feet 
for medium-sized horses in order to avoid losing a row of stalls 
in the forward and after ends of the ship, abreast of hatches, 
alongside of engine and boiler casings, etc. Additional stalls, 
distributed in the different compartments or decks in which 
horses are carried, must be provided for use as hospital stalls 
for sick animals, as follows: One additional stall 2 feet 6 inches 
in width by 8 feet in depth for the first 4 to 10 horses shipped. 






328 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Two additional stalls, of 5 feet in width by 8 feet in depth, for 
the first 25 horses shipped and 2 feet 6 inches in width by 8 feet 
in depth for each additional 25 horses, allowing four extra stalls 
for each 100 horses shipped. 

Separate stalls will not be required for unbroken fillies and 
mules. When horses are placed directly under athwartship 
beams, the beams must be guarded by 4-inch strips of wood. 
When placed in the same compartment with cattle, horses must 
be separated by fore-and-aft alleyways and temporary athwart¬ 
ship bulkheads, the length of which shall not be less than the 
depth of the stalls. Small numbers of horses may be shipped in 
boxes or portable stalls of sufficient size and strength to carry 
same safely. 

Upper-deck Fittings 

Regulation 17. No animals shall be allowed within 20 feet 
of the breakwater on the spar deck, between the 1st of October 
and the 1st of April, except on ships provided with houses con¬ 
structed of iron in each wing and of sufficient width and height 
to protect the fittings, when the fittings may be constructed to 
abut such houses. Horses may be carried upon the bridge deck 
of steamers having a strong rail outboard to secure the fittings. 
No cattle or horses shall be carried upon the upper decks where 
the outside rails are not of sufficient strength to hold fittings 
securely and measure less than 3 feet in height from the deck. 
When animals are carried upon the upper decks, strong break¬ 
waters shall be erected at each end and on both sides. Perma¬ 
nent fittings may be constructed of either iron or wood, as here¬ 
inafter specified. 

Alleyways 

Regulation IS. All steamers engaged in carrying animals for 
export will be required to provide alleyways as provided by this 
regulation. Alleyways in front of and between pens used for 
feeding and watering cattle must have a width of 3 feet; however, 
for a distance not to exceed 12 feet at end of alleyways in bow 
and stern of ship, and where obstructions less than 3 feet in 
length occur, the width may be reduced to a minimum of 18 
inches. Alleyways in front of and between pens used for feed¬ 
ing and watering horses must have a minimum width of 4 feet 
except in bow and stern of ship, where the alleyways may be 
reduced to a width of not less than 3 feet. Two or more athwart¬ 
ship alleyways at least 18 inches wide in the clear must be left 
on each side of upper deck, so that the scuppers can be readily 
reached and kept clear of obstructions. Three or more alley- 
ways at least 18 inches wide must be left open on each side in 
’tween or other under decks, where deck is not divided into 
compartments. Where ’tween or other under decks are divided 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


329 


into compartments, one or more athwartship alleyways, 18 inches 
wide on both sides of ship and in every compartment, must be 
left clear and open so that the scuppers can be readily reached 
and cleared of all obstructions. In forward compartments the 
alleyways to scuppers must be placed at after end of compart¬ 
ments. In after compartments the alleyways to scuppers must 
be in forward ends of compartments. Athwartship alleyways 
not less than 2 feet in width must be provided, so that the 
attendants may cross ship’s deck with feed and water for animals, 
and for other purposes. When animals are not carried in the 
decks beneath, passage from side to side of ship can be made 
by crossing over hatches where the coamings do not exceed 
18 inches in height. Sufficient space must be left at the sides 
of hatches to permit of the feed in decks beneath being readily 
removed and handled. Where animals are carried in under 
decks, proper brows, or runs, must be placed in hatches, on 
which animals may be walked in loading or discharging. Where 
horses are carried on upper deck and in under deck, said brows 
must remain shipped, in hatches, so that horses may be led 
from deck to deck during voyage. 

Wooden Stanchions and Rump Boards 

Regulation 19. Stanchions at least 3 inches higher than the 
required vertical space for cattle must be of 4 by 6 inch clear, 
hard pine or 4 by 6 inch good, sound spruce, set at 5 feet from 
centers against the ship’s rail, or at points midway between two 
animals, and inside stanchions in their proper place must be in 
line with outboard stanchions, and set up so that the 6-inch 
way of the stanchions shall set fore-and-aft. A 3-inch shoulder 
may be cut on head of stanchion to receive beam and must be 
bolted through and through with %-inch bolts for all stanchions, 
or stanchions may be of same height as required vertical space 
for cattle to butt up square to beams with 2 by 8 inch cleat butted 
against both sides of stanchions and well nailed to beams, and 
1 by 6 by 24 inch angle braces properly placed and nailed to secure 
each stanchion to its beam. Inboard stanchions supporting 
roof fittings shall be 2 inches higher than outboard or rail stanch¬ 
ions. In amidship fittings and where fittings are brought for¬ 
ward to clear rigging bitts, etc., the rump-board stanchions may 
be 3 by 4 inch braced or cleated to beam or roof or deck as 
required. A piece 2 by 3 inch, or 2-inch plank, shall be fastened 
to the outside of the stanchion and run up to underneath the 
rail to chock down the stanchion and prevent lifting when the 
beam is sprung to the crown of the deck. Open-rail ships shall 
be blocked out on backs of stanchions fair with the outside of 
rails to receive the outside planking. Where upper-deck fittings 


330 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


are not permanent, the heels of outside stanchions shall be 
secured by a bracing of 2 by 3 inch lumber from the back of each 
stanchion to sheer streak of waterway, the heels of inside 
stanchions being properly braced from and to each other. 

Rump boards must be provided on all decks, and when cover¬ 
ing bitts, rigging, braces, or other obstructions located at a 
distance from ship’s sides, rump boards must be brought forward 
to cover same, with a solid partition behind the animals; and 
when necessary to extend fittings opposite bitts, rigging, braces, 
etc., fittings for two or more animals must be brought forward. 
Rump boards in such cases shall be not less than 1% inches in 
thickness, tongued and grooved, and built to a height of 4 feet 
6 inches from the deck. Where deck is clear and without 
obstructions, such as braces, etc., rump boards maybe set on the 
inside of rail stanchions. In such case and where beef cattle 
stand rump to rump in amidship stalls 18 inches (or two boards 
of lVg by 9 inches) of tongue and groove, good, sound spruce 
or hard pine will be used. In ’tween-decks when ship’s ribs 
are of the bulb-edge type, or of channel-iron type, the above- 
mentioned rump board may be used. When ribs are of the 
thin-edge type close backing shall be run down, same as in 
offsets on upper deck, or ribs may be covered with wood. Where 
ship’s cargo battens are in good order same may be used as 
backing or rump boards by filling in spaces between, when 
necessary. Stanchions for horses will be placed as hereinafter 
specified. 

Iron Stanchions 

Regulation 20. Iron stanchions may be used in place of 
wooden stanchions and shall not be less than 2 inches in diam¬ 
eter, set in iron sockets above and below, and fastened with 
%-inch bolts. For horses the same number of iron stanchions 
are required as when wooden stanchions are used. 

Hook Bolts or Clamps 

Regulation 21. Hook bolts or clamps must be made of %- 
inch wrought iron, with hook on outboard end and thread and 
nut on inboard end to pass over and under rail and through 
outboard stanchion and set up on the inside of same with a nut. 
These bolts may be double or single. If double, no thread or 
nut is necessary, but the stanchion will lie shipped through it, 
thus double-hooking the rails. This will be found very useful 
where funnels or other deck fittings come in the way of beams 
passing from side to side of ship. 

Beams 

Regulation 22. Beams must be of good, sound spruce or 
hard-pine lumber, 3 by 6 inches, to run clear across the ship’s 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


331 


beam where practicable. Should any house or deck fittings be 
in the way, the beams should butt up closely to the same. When 
there are no stalls amidship a stanchion must be set under beam 
at center of ship’s deck and be properly secured. 

Braces 

Regulation 23. Diagonal braces shall be fastened on each 
stanchion on both sides of same, running up to top side of beam 
and properly secured by nailing well to both stanchions and beam. 
Where stanchion is gained out to receive beam, a piece of 2 by 3 
will be nailed on side of stanchion to flush with beam, and 
diagonal brace will be nailed on beam and on the 2 by 3. 

Breast Boards 

Regulation 24. Breast boards shall be not less than 1% by 
9% inches dressed lumber, or 2 by 10 inches rough, of good, 
clear spruce or hard pine and secured at every stanchion by 
%-inch screw bolts passing through same and set up with nuts. 
All breast boards must butt on the stanchions. An iron plate 
one-quarter of an inch thick and 3 inches square shall be placed 
over the boards like a butt strap, bolt passing through same. 
All breast boards shall have 1-inch holes bored through them 
at proper distances for tying the animals. 

Footboards 

Regulation 25. Footboards shall be of wood and of not less 
than 2 by 9 inches in the rough, and shall be properly nailed or 
bolted to stanchions. 


Division Boards for Cattle 

Regulation 26. Division boards for cattle shall be 2 by 8 inch 
boards, sound spruce or hard pine, and so arranged as to divide 
the animals into lots of four, except at the ends of rows, thus 
making compartments for that number all over the vessel. 
Division boards shall be four in number at ends of hatches, 
passageways across ship, at alleyways to scuppers, and for 
dairy and breeding cattle, whether divided into lots of four or 
placed in single stalls. Division boards shall be placed hori¬ 
zontally with 3-inch openings between and fitted perpendicularly. 
All division boards must be portable. 

Division Boards for Horses 

Regulation 27. Division boards for horses shall not be less 
than 2 by 9 inches of good, sound spruce or hard pine, dressed 
on both sides, with top edges rounded, and placed horizontally 




332 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


between the horses. All division boards must be portable. 
Fittings at ends of hatches, alleyways, etc., must conform to 
Regulation 26. 


Flooring for Horses and Breeding Cattle 

Regulation 28. Ships with iron decks shall be sheathed with 
1 or 2 inch spruce or hard pine, but if 1-inch lumber is used the 
footlocks shall be 3 by 4 inches and laid so that they will properly 
secure the 1-inch boards, thus preventing them from slipping 
and at the same time acting as footlocks by showing a surface 
of 2 by 4 inches. It is optional with the owners whether they 
permit sheathing to be used on their ships with wooden decks, 
or whether they allow footlocks to be secured to the deck, but 
it is absolutely necessary to sheath iron decks before putting 
down footlocks in order to fasten same. Cement diagonally 
scored one-half inch deep may be used on iron decks instead of 
wooden sheathing if the footlocks be molded in the same and 
bolted to the deck. If the flooring is raised on any of the decks, 
it shall not be less than 2 inches thick, with scantling 2 by 3 
inches laid athwartships on the deck not more than 2 feet 6 inches 
apart with 2-inch plank for flooring nailed to them. Flooring 
may be in two or three sections in the depth of the stalls so as to 
provide for its removal and relaying after cleaning and disin¬ 
fecting of decks and fittings, or, if owners prefer, flooring for 
horses or mules may be made with 2-inch plank laid athwart¬ 
ships in stalls with one-half or three-fourths inch openings 
between, with 1-inch cleat at each end and nailed to same, which 
will allow flooring to clear lap in deck plates and prevent rocking. 
Footlocks must be bolted to such flooring. This flooring may be 
made in separate sections, one for each animal. On upper or 
exposed decks such flooring must be cleated down by placing a 
piece of 2 by 3 inches on inside of footboard and on stanchions 
in rear end of stalls and nailing to same. For breeding and 
dairy cattle on all decks where these animals are carried the 
flooring must be raised; 1% by 9 inch lumber may be used as 
flooring for these animals with 2 by 3 inch scantling underneath, 
placed not more than 2 feet apart and the flooring nailed to each 
piece of scantling. This flooring may be laid in portable fore- 
and-aft sections. 

Footlocks 

Regulation 29. Footlocks shall be of good, sound spruce, 
hard pine, oak, or other hardwood, size 2 by 4 inches (where 
2 -inch flooring is used), laid flat side down and fore-and-aft, 
placed 12 inches, 14 inches, 2 feet 2 inches, and 14 inches apart, 
the first one distant 12 inches from the inside of footboard. 
Where temporary fore-and-aft footlocks are used, they shall be 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


333 


filled in athwartships opposite each stanchion, properly secured 
to sheathing or deck, and secured by a batten of spruce or hard 
pine, size 2 by 3 inches, to go over all from stanchion to stanchion. 
This batten must be in one piece. Pieces 2 by 3 inches must be 
nailed on stanchions or backing over batten to prevent floor 
raising. These pieces over battens over all will not be required 
in under decks. When permanent footlocks, securely bolted 
to decks, are used, the athwartship braces between footlocks 
from stanchion to stanchion and batten may be omitted when the 
stanchion is securely fitted in iron socket bolted to the deck. 
A space of 2 inches will be left between the ends of athwartship 
footlocks and fore-and-aft footlocks when the former are securely 
bolted to the deck. When the fore-and-aft footlocks are perma¬ 
nent, a 3-inch space shall be left between the ends at end of 
each section. In under decks, the footlocks will be 1 by 4 
inches above the flooring where cattle for dairy and breeding 
purposes are carried. 

Outside Planking 

Regulation 30. All outside planking on open and closed rail 
ships must be properly laid fore-and-aft of ship and nailed to 
backs of stanchions as close as possible for the cold season, and 
for the warmer months the top-course planking shall be left 
off fore-and-aft of ship in order to allow a free circulation of air. 
Nothing less than lVs-inch tongue-and-groove spruce or hard 
pine will be allowed for this purpose. Outside planking may 
be laid in mill-run lengths, butts to be broken, and reinforced 
with lVs-inch lumber, forming butt straps, these to be well 
nailed and nails clinched. 


Roof Planking 

Regulation 31. The planks to form the roof, which must be 
erected on all exposed decks, must be laid fore-and-aft; lVg-inch 
sound spruce or hard pine lumber, tongued and grooved, may be 
used sufficient to cover, from outside planking to 2 feet beyond 
the line of breast boards. These planks must be driven tightly 
together and shall be well nailed to the athwartship beams. 
It will be optional with owners whether tar paper or other cover¬ 
ing will be laid over roofing. Where permanent boat platforms 
are not provided, a roof of 2-inch lumber must be laid, from 
which boats may be worked. When 1%-inch tongue-and- 
groove lumber is used as outside planking, or for roofing, the 
butts may be broken. Where butts are broken, same must 
be reinforced by 1%-inch boards well nailed to underside of 
roof. The nails used for this purpose must in all cases be 
clinched. 


334 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Cattle Fittings over Spar Deck 

Regulation 32. No cattle fittings shall be erected over 
permanent spar-deck fittings forward and aft of the amidship 
sections until permission has been obtained from the Chief of 
the Bureau of Animal Industry. 

Under-deck Fittings 
Alleyways 

Regulation 33. Alleyways on under decks shall be of the 
same dimensions as the alleyways on the upper decks. 

Stanchions 

Regulation 34. Stanchions on under decks shall be of 4 by 
6 inch clear, hard pine or good, sound spruce, set 6-inch way 
fore-and-aft, and may be set 7 feet 6 inches from centers, for 
three animals, provided the space for animals is 2 feet 6 inches 
per head. If space for animals is more than 2 feet 6 inches per 
head, the distance between stanchions may be changed accord¬ 
ingly. Thus, if two cattle or horses are given 4 feet each, 
stanchions may be set at 8-foot centers and driven tight between 
the decks, securely braced with 2 by 3 inch raking shores from 
stanchion to stanchion and sides of ship. If one or both decks 
are of wood, then the stanchions may be secured by cleating 
well to one or both decks, at heads and heels of same. When 
3 by 10 inch breast boards are used, 4 by 6 inch stanchions may 
be set at 10-foot centers. 

Breast Boards, Etc. 

Regulation 35. Breast boards may be of 1% by 9% inch 
lumber dressed, or of 2 by 10 inch in the rough, of sound spruce 
or hard pine, when stanchions are set at 7 feet 6 inches for 
3 animals. In no case will 1% inch dressed, or 2 by 10 inch 
rough breast boards be allowed when the distance between 
centers of breast-board stanchions is more than 8 feet. Breast 
boards of 2% inches by 9% inches, dressed, or 3 by 10 inches in 
the rough, may be used when stanchions are set at 10-foot centers 
for 4 animals, and the distance between stanchions to centers 
will in no case exceed 10 feet. Proper gates or openings in 
breast boards must be provided at convenient distances, so as 
to allow animals to be loaded and moved from pens when neces¬ 
sary. These must be formed of breast board and must be 
properly cleated with wood or iron cleats, with stop, or chock, 
over top of breast board to prevent raising. These gates must 
be on all decks where animals are carried. 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


335 


Troughs 

Regulation 36. Suitable troughs may be built when required 
for cattle on either deck, by placing footboard on outside of front 
stanchions. When flooring is raised, the floor forms the bottom 
of trough, the footboard the outside, and 2 by 3 inch run on 
2-inch edge on first footlock, and well nailed, forms inner side. 
In ’tween deck when footlocks are of 1 by 4 inch for cows, etc., 
the first footlock inside of breast board will be 2 by 4 inches 
showing a 5-inch depth of trough. 

When flooring is not raised in stalls, the first section of floor¬ 
ing, or the section between footboard and first footlock shall be 
raised 2 inches, thus forming the bottom of troughs, then built 
up on first footlock to form inner side of trough. Shippers of 
cattle may use metal troughs, when same are desired. Remov¬ 
able and separate troughs must be used for horses. They may 
be of wood or metal, and must have hooks for hanging same on 
breast board. Suitable troughs for grain and water must be 
provided on three sides of each sheep, goat, or hog pen. 

Pens at Ends of Hatches 

Regulation 37. When pens or stalls for horses or cattle run 
up to the ends of hatches, 4 athwartship boards, 2 inches thick, 
must be placed to prevent animals from getting out of such pens. 
These boards must be portable. When stalls or pens for horses 
or cattle are built alongside of hatches, rump boards will be 
carried down to line of coaming. 

Protection from Heat of Boilers and Engines 

Regulation 38. No animals shall be stowed along the alley- 
ways by engine and boiler rooms, unless the sides of said engine 
and boiler rooms are covered by a tongue-and-groove tight 
sheathing, making a 3-inch air space. 

Covering for Steering Gear 

Regulation 39. Raised flooring of 2-inch plank must be placed 
over steering gear when found necessary. This may be made up 
of portable sections so as to be easily removed in case of acci¬ 
dent. It must, however, be properly cleated to prevent shifting. 

Sheep, Pigs, and Goats 
Shelter Deck 

Regulation 40. A single tier of sheep, pigs, and goats may be 
carried on the shelter deck. Stanchions shall be not less than 
3 by 4 inch spruce or hard pine, set 5-foot centers, the 4-mch 


12 


336 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


way of stanchions to be set fore-and-aft, with iy 2 -inch shoulder 
to be gained on stanchions to receive rafters. Rafters shall be 
3 by 4 inch spruce or hard pine set on 3-inch side, and bolted to 
stanchions with %-inch bolts. On open-rail ships, the backs of 
rail stanchions will be filled out to flush with outside of rail, on 
which outside planking will be nailed. Troughs must be con¬ 
structed of 3 pieces of 1 by 6 inch lumber nailed together, and 
fastened between stanchions. Hayracks shall be made of 1 by 2 
inch strips, placed fore-and-aft, and on athwartship partitions. 
One by 2 inch strips will be used for footlocks. Fronts and ends 
of pens shall be of 1 by 6 inch spruce or hard pine and sufficient 
in number properly to secure the animals in the pens. Roofing 
and outside planking shall be not less than 1% inches thick and 
must be tongued and grooved. Double tiers of sheep, pigs, or 
goats may also be carried on the shelter decks when rail is of 
sufficient height and strength, as for cattle. Fittings shall be 
of same dimensions as for cattle. Space must be regulated to 
suit size of animals to be shipped. 

Well Decks 

Regulation 41. Single tiers of sheep, pigs, or goats may be 
carried on well decks, the same as on shelter deck, except on 
ships with closed bulwarks. Outboard stanchions must be cut 
at least 4 inches higher than bulwark, and must be hook-bolted 
to rail. Five-eighths-inch hook bolts must be used for this 
purpose. All stanchions must be not less than 3 by 4 inches. 
When bulwark is of sufficient height to permit of rafters running 
underneath the head of rail, this will be done by cutting out 
1 Vi by 4 inches of side of stanchion at that point, allowing same 
to run through to underneath the head, thus forming check to 
prevent fittings lifting. This will bring roof of pens flush with 
top of bulwark. An inner backing in pens on these decks will be 
required. Not less than 1-inch flooring, raised 2 inches, will be 
allowed on these decks. 

Two tiers of sheep, pigs, or goats may be carried on well deck, 
in fittings as for cattle, as per Regulation 40. 

Under Deck 

Regulation 42. When the pens for sheep, pigs, or goats in 
under decks are built for two tiers, stanchions may be of not less 
than 3 by 4 inch good spruce or hard pine lumber. Joists not 
less than 3 by 4 inch spruce or hard pine must be used, supported 
in centers by 2 by 3 inch pieces run from deck to underside of 
joists, securely nailed to same. The flooring shall be not less 
than %-inch tongue-and-groove spruce or hard pine and 1 by 2 
inch battens shall be laid fore-and-aft on flooring 18 inches 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


337 


apart to act as footlocks. Troughs, hayracks, fronts and ends 
of pens, etc., will be as provided in Regulation 40. 

Ventilation 

Regulation 43. Each under-deck compartment not exceeding 
50 feet in length must have at least four bell-mouthed ventilators 
of not less than 18 inches in diameter and with tops exceeding 
7 feet in height above shelter deck, two situated at each end of 
the compartment. Compartments over 50 feet long must have 
additional ventilators of the same dimensions or efficient fans. 
Animals must not be placed at greater distance than 10 feet 
beyond ventilators. 

Spar Deck 

Regulation 44. When the fittings on the spar deck are perma¬ 
nent and hatches overhead are provided, the same regulations 
for ventilation shall apply as provided for under decks. 

Third Deck 

Regulation 45. When it is desired to carry animals upon the 
third deck, written permission must be obtained from the in¬ 
spector of the port. The vessel must be fitted as hereinbefore 
specified, lighted with electric lights, and properly ventilated. 
One set of ventilators should be trimmed to the wind and another 
set in the opposite direction. The ventilators must be tested and 
kept in easy working order. 


Hatches 

Regulation 46. No cattle, horses, sheep, goats, or swine 
shall be loaded upon hatches on decks above animals, nor shall 
any merchandise, freight, or feed for animals be loaded upon 
said hatches, but said hatches shall at all times be kept clear. 

In loading animals upon exposed decks, such as bridge, spar, 
well decks, etc., where hatch coamings do not exceed 2 feet in 
height at center of hatch, animals may be placed on hatches, 
provided that on all hatches on upper decks sufficient space be 
left clear so that entrance to deck beneath may be possible at 
all times. There must also be left clear on all hatches, under 
which hay and feed are stowed, space for the proper removal and 
handling of same. 

When animals are carried in the ’tween-decks, animals may 
be placed on hatches. In no case will horses be allowed on 
hatches when the vertical space between beams or coamings 
overhead and flooring underfoot is less than 7 feet. 

In no case shall cattle be placed on hatches when the vertical 
space between beams or coamings overhead and flooring under 
foot is less than 5 feet 6 inches. 






338 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


When animals are carried on third or steerage deck, they may 
be carried on third-deck hatches. 

In carrying animals on under-deck hatches, sufficient space 
must be left clear on hatches for passageway across ship, for 
proper removal and handling of hay and feed, and also for brow. 

Lighting 

Regulation 47. All vessels designated as cattle ships must 
provide at all times electric lights for the proper attending of all 
animals. 

Feed and Water 

Regulation 48. All vessels not provided with pipes for water¬ 
ing animals shall carry casks or hogsheads of not less than 400 
gallons’ total capacity for each 100 head of cattle and horses, and 
an additional amount in equal proportion shall also be carried 
for sheep, and these containers shall be filled with fresh water 
before sailing and refilled as emptied. All water tanks for use 
of animals must be filled with good, fresh water before sailing. 

Each vessel shall carry water condensers which are in good 
working order and of sufficient capacity to provide 8 gallons of 
fresh, cold water each 24 hours for each head of cattle, in addition 
to the amount required by other animals on board and for other 
purposes. 

Regulation 49. Not more than two days’ feed for the animals 
shall be allowed to be carried on the shelter deck, and no feed 
shall be carried on the shelter deck when same interferes with 
the proper care of sheep; neither shall any feed be stored on 
top or inside of sheep pens. When feed, as provided above, is 
placed on the shelter deck, it must be properly covered and 
shall be the first feed used. All other feed shall be under 
hatches, and, so far as possible, shall be placed in the holds 
contiguous to the animals on board. 

Attendants 

Employment and Character 

Regulation 50. The employment of all attendants shall be 
subject to the approval of the inspector of the port, and men so 
employed shall be reliable and signed as a part of the ship’s 
crew and under the control of the captain of the vessel. They 
shall be furnished with heated, well-lighted, and well-ventilated 
quarters and with bedding and table utensils. Experienced fore¬ 
men shall be in charge of the animals, and not less than one-half 
of the attendants must be experienced men who have made 
previous trips with stock. 

The shippers of export animals, or their agents, shall make 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


339 


affidavit concerning the character of the attendants. The 
attendants shall be assembled a sufficient time before the sailing 
of the steamer for an employee of this department to examine 
them. The examination shall be made before the signing of 
the ship’s articles by the attendants, and any man who fails to 
conform to the following conditions shall be rejected: (1) The 
men employed must be able to speak English sufficiently to make 
themselves understood, or to understand orders given them; 
(2) they must know for what purpose they are employed and the 
duties that will be required of them; (3) they must be able- 
bodied and physically competent to perform the duties required; 
(4) each man entitled to return passage shall be supplied with 
return transportation before acceptance, unless he informs the 
inspector that he does not wish to return. The department has 
no control over the return of attendants. Inspectors in charge 
of the ports are directed to enforce carefully the above-enum¬ 
erated regulations. 

When any attendant is found to be incompetent, intemperate 
or otherwise unfit to care for the animals properly, the captain 
of the vessel is requested to report the facts to the inspector of 
the port. 

Cattle Attendants 

Regulation 51. There shall be one attendant for each 35 head 
of cattle, not including foremen, upon steamers having water 
pipes extending the entire length of both sides of compartments; 
and upon steamers not so fitted there shall be one attendant for 
each 25 head of cattle shipped. Provided, however, That when 
all the attendants are experienced and capable men, there shall 
be one attendant for each 50 head of cattle upon steamers having 
water pipes extending the entire length of both sides of com¬ 
partments, and not less than 3 feet in width of alleyways, if a 
competent watchman for night duty for each shipper is furnished 
in addition; and upon steamers not so fitted there shall be one 
experienced attendant to each 35 head of cattle shipped, together 
with watchmen as provided above; except that for fresh cows 
and forward springers the number of attendants must be in¬ 
creased in proportion to the number of animals of these classes 
and there must be not less than one additional experienced at¬ 
tendant to each 15 head of such cows. 

Sheep and Goat Attendants 

There shall be one man in charge of each 150 head of sheep 
and goats during the winter season (October 1 to April 1), and 
one to each 200 sheep and goats during the summer season. 

Horse Attendants 

For horses there shall be one attendant to each 22 head. 


340 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Additional Help 

There shall also be additional help furnished by the captain 
of the vessel when water has to be pumped by hand. 

Rest, Loading, Inspection, Certificates, Etc. 

Rest before Embarkation 

Regulation 52. No vessel shall be permitted to take on board 
any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats unless the same have been 
allowed at least five hours’ actual rest in the yards at the port 
of embarkation before the vessel sails, nor until the loading of 
the other cargo has been completed. 

The phrase “ actual rest ” as applied to live stock in transit 
for export must not be interpreted to include any of the time 
occupied in unloading animals from the cars, or in their inspec¬ 
tion, handling and roping, or in loading them on the cars again 
for transportation to steamer. 

All animals must remain a sufficient length of time in stables 
or yards during daylight at the port of embarkation before the 
vessel sails, for the purpose of inspection. 

No vessel shall be permitted to take on board any horses which 
have been shipped more than 500 miles unless the same have 
been allowed at least 18 hours’ actual rest in the stable or stables 
designated by the inspector for export horses at the port of 
embarkation before the vessel sails. Horses shipped less than 
500 miles shall remain in such stables or yards as the inspector 
may designate not less than 6 hours for the purpose of inspection 
and rest. Horses shall not be placed upon steamers until the 
loading of the other cargo has been completed. 

Loading, Etc. 

Regulation 53. The inspector, or one of his assistants, shall 
supervise the loading of the animals and see that they are 
properly stowed, and, so far as practicable, tied; that a sufficient 
amount of good, wholesome feed is properly stowed; and that 
all the requirements of these regulations have been complied 
with. In case the regulations have not been complied with, he 
shall immediately notify the Chief of the Bureau of Animal 
Industry. In hot weather the tying of the cattle may, in the 
discretion of the inspector, be in part omitted until after the 
steamer has cleared and is in motion. 

Certificates of Inspection 

Regulation 54. The inspector at the port of shipment shall 
issue certificate of inspection for cattle, sheep, swine, and goats, 
which are to be exported to any foreign country, unless the 


CARRIAGE OF LIVE STOCK 


341 


Secretary of Agriculture shall have waived the requirement for 
such certificate of inspection for export to the particular country 
to which such animals are to be shipped. Each certificate shall 
cite the name of the shipper, the name of the consignee, and the 
destination. The certificates shall be issued in serial numbers; 
only one certificate shall be issued for each consignment, unless 
otherwise directed by the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry. 
The certificates shall be delivered to the chief officer of the 
vessel upon which said consignment of live stock is to be trans¬ 
ported after the loading and stowing is completed, and continue 
with the shipment to destination, where it may be delivered to 
the consignee. 


Defective Fittings 

Regulation 55. The inspector may, in case he finds that any 
of the fittings are worn, decayed, defective in construction, or 
appear to be unsound, require the same to be replaced before 
he authorizes the clearance of the vessel. 

Cleansing of False Decks and Temporary Troughs 

Regulation 56. False decks upon which live stock are loaded 
and temporary feed troughs must be removed and the manure 
and dirt cleaned from underneath and disinfected before receiv¬ 
ing another load of live stock. 

Headropes, Etc. 

Regulation 57. Cattle shall be tied with %-inch rope, which 
shall not be used more than once, and must be either manila or 
sisal. 

All headropes, halters, blankets, stable utensils, feed bags 
and feed troughs, if returned to this country, must be disinfected 
under the supervision of the inspector of the port unless an 
affidavit is furnished by the captain of the vessel that the same 
have been disinfected, describing the manner of disinfection, 
or unless such affidavit is furnished by the proper official at the 
port where the animals are unloaded. 

Injured Animals 

Regulation 58. Animals suffering from broken legs or other 
serious injuries during the voyage shall be slaughtered by 
direction of the Captain of the vessel. 


©©©+©©©© 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 

Markings of Valves Generally Adopted on 
American Tankers 

Live Steam Valves Bright Red. 


Exhaust Steam Valves Blue. 


Master Cargo Valves Yellow. 


Starboard Cargo Line Valves Green Center and 

Yellow Border. 


Port Cargo Line Valves Red Center and 

Yellow Border. 


Bunker Fuel Oil Valves Black. 


Sea Water Valves Green. 


Fresh Water Valves White. 

© Emergency Valves Half Bright Red 

and Half Black. 

Note.—All valve wheels to follow this system, 
in Pump Roomy Engine Roomy and on Deck. 


CHAPTER 11 


THE TANKER 

I 

The Action of Tank Vessels 

The carriage of bulk oil in tank vessels has now become of 
immense importance and this type of craft is increasing in size 
(20,300 D.W. tankers are building) and many important rules 
for the handling of this special cargo have been evolved. 

In the first place, masters taking charge of an oil tank vessel 
for the first time should be watchful of certain peculiarities due 
to the fluid nature of the cargo. At the present time much 
study is being given to the apparent differences in the behavior of 
vessels of similar size and tonnage when loaded with fluid cargo 
and with solid cargo. It is claimed that the tank vessel, full 
loaded, is more sluggish in a seaway than other ships. It has 
been said that vessels loaded with oil are more liable to drag 
their anchors, and that, due to the peculiar inertia caused by 
the fluid nature of the cargo (with tanks full) where the molecules 
of oil have a circulation and movement within their own con¬ 
fined mass, greater stress is put on rudder stocks, etc., resulting 
in a higher percentage of breakage on tank vessels. 

The Nautical Gazette in a recent issue discusses the matter 
as follows : 

“ Among the things which Solomon confessed he could not 
understand was the way of a ship in the sea. While a good deal 
of maritime knowledge has been gained since Solomon’s time, 
shipbuilders and ship operators have still something to learn as 
to the ways of vessels when they breast the waves. 

“ At the present time research work is going on in various parts 
of the world as to the behavior of tankers in a seaway. Certain 
puzzling phenomena have been observed in connection with them, 
which, so far, have not been explained on a scientific basis. 
Frequently tankers are said by shipping men to be 4 sluggish.’ 
In other words, they fail to rise and fall with the same readiness 
as do other vessels. 


343 


344 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



“Again there appears to be no 
doubt that a tanker gathers more 
momentum than a ship in which the 
cargo is a general one. When a 
tanker rams another vessel, the 
smash is usually more serious than 
if an ordinary freighter had done 
the damage. These various phe¬ 
nomena are understood to result 
from the fact that a tanker’s cargo 
is in a fluid state and in a constant 
condition of circulation.” 

II 

Subdivision of Hull 

In the modern American tanker 
there are usually from eight to ten 
tanks divided into port and star¬ 
board compartments by a continu¬ 
ous longitudinal oil tight bulkhead. 
Some of the largest British tankers 
are divided into twelve tank com¬ 
partments. The San Fernando , 
one of the latest built by Messers 
Armstrong, Whitworth and Com¬ 
pany being of 18,550 tons D.W.* 

* The steamship San Florentino , the 
latest addition to the fleet of the Eagle Oil 
Transport Co., successfully underwent her 
speed and other tests off the mouth of the 
Tyne (1920), an average spedd of 11.4 
knots per hour being accomplished. The 
San Florentino carries a deadweight of 
18,000 tons. She is 530 feet in length 
and 68 feet 5 inches in width. 

Four-and-a-half miles of oil pipes are 
fitted in the vessel, and these are so ar¬ 
ranged that four different grades of oil 
can be either loaded or discharged simul¬ 
taneously without becoming mixed. The 
after and forward pump rooms are each 
fitted with two powerful duplex pumps ca- 

































THE TANKER 


345 


Further subdivision athwartship is made by the pump room, 
located near the middle of the tanks in American practice.* In 
the largest British tankers two pump rooms divide the tanks 
into three sections. 

The cofferdams, parallel cross bulkheads, are placed aft be¬ 
tween the fuel bunker and the aftermost oil cargo compartment, 
and forward between the dry cargo hold and the forward tank. 

Sometimes a cofferdam is placed between the tanks amid¬ 
ships, and in this design it is necessary to have two pump 
rooms located in the middle of the two sections of tanks. 

The fore hold is designed for the carriage of dry freight usually 
over a deep tank for reserve fuel oil, additional cargo oil, or 
water ballast. This is in fact a huge forward trimming tank and 
is useful in maintaining a balance between the engines and 
bunkers placed far aft. 

Cofferdams . These are peculiar to oil tank vessels, and are 
of oil tight construction. It must be understood that a water¬ 
tight bulkhead is not necessarily oil-tight. An oil tight bulkhead 
calls for the most careful close-spaced riveting, all rivet holes 
being absolutely fair and completely filled. 

The forward cofferdam is usually left empty, as tankers when 
loaded generally trim by the head, though at times it may be 
used for the carriage of additional fuel oil when on a long voyage, 
and some advocate that it be filled with water. 

The space between cofferdam bulkheads in ships of transverse 
framing is two frames, and when the vessel is built on the 

pable of discharging 300 tons of oil an hour. The main suction pipes are 10 
inches and the discharge pipes 8 inches in diameter. Suctions are fitted 
closely to the center line of the ship to enable the tanks to be thoroughly 
drained. 

For discharging the oil there are nine outlets on each side of the ship. 
The prope lling engines consist of a set of compound-geared turbines of the 
Brown-Curtiss type, working a single propeller. The turbines work in series, 
but their connections are so arranged that they can each run independently 
and be coupled to gearing to operate the propeller. In the casings of the 
main turbines there are incorporated astern turbines capable of giving not 
less than 60 per cent, of the total power for driving the ship ahead. Oil fuel 
burning apparatus is fitted to the boilers, which are cylindrical and five in 
number. The working pressure is 220 pounds per square inch. 

* The pump room is often located forward of the tanks and in some vessels 
is placed aft, just forward of the fuel tank. 


346 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Isherwood system of longitudinal framing these bulkheads are 
spaced from 3% to 5 feet apart. 

Just forward of this cofferdam is located a small pump room 
for serving the deep tank under the cargo hold. This pump 
room usually carries a fuel-oil transfer pump for sending fuel 
oil aft when same is being used from the forward tank. 



In American practice the tanks are numbered from forward 
aft, as in the case of cargo holds. The British practice is to 
number them from aft forward. Thus we have No. 1 starboard, 
and No. 1 port, beginning abaft the forward cofferdam. 

In a ten tank vessel the pump room will generally be located 
between No. 5 and No. 6 tanks. In some vessels it is aft, just 
forward of the bunker space. 

Abaft of No. 10 tank (in a ten-tank vessel) is the after coffer¬ 
dam, built and spaced as forward. Where napthalene or other 
dangerous oils are being carried this cofferdam will usually be 
filled with water. 

Bunker . The bunker extends across the vessel abaft the 
after cofferdam, following the general arrangement of the tanks 
with wing bunkers abaft of the cross bunker, and the usual 
expansion trunk and summer tanks above. 

The bunker may also be used for the carriage of coal, when 
coal fuel must be used. Also, when going light, a tank vessel 
may bunker from her forward tank and may fill the fore hold 
with light dry cargo. 






























THE TANKER 


347 


III 

Pump Room 

The Standard Oil Company, and many of the other large 
tanker operators, place the Chief Mate in full charge of the 
entire cargo pipe lines, valves, pump rooms, etc. The pump¬ 
men work under his direction. Repairs are attended to by the 
Chief Engineer. 

This places the operation of loading and discharging under 
control of the Master, through the Chief Mate. 

When loading or discharging, the officer in charge of the 
deck must watch his trim and his lines, having careful con¬ 
sideration of the state of the tide, and he must be ready to pass 
his orders to the man in charge of the pumps. 

Deck loading and discharging 



The pump room generally contains two large cargo pumps, one 
to port and the other to starboard. 

Crossover pipes are fitted between the two main pipe lines 
and these are controlled by master valves usually operated from 
the shelter deck. 

In the latest practice the suction valves are actuated only 




















































348 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


from the deck, but the transfering valves are operated only 
from the pump room and are under the sole control of the 
pump-room engineers. 

IV 

Pipe Lines. 

While the arrangement on different tank vessels will vary the 
general principle governing the piping on all of them may be 
laid down and an officer joining one of these vessels will study 
her piping plan and will trace out the lines and the location of 
valves as a matter of course. 

The two main pipe lines are the starboard and port pipe lines 
running fore and aft from the pump rooms and serving the 
various tanks, first by direct suction or delivery to the tanks 
located on the side of each line, second by cross suctions into 
the tank on the opposite side. These lines are of large pipe 
8" to 14" in diameter. 


.Aft. Cofferdam /'Port Tanks) 'PumpRoom Fore Cofferdam-, 


f ' 

a. 


1 l ' 0 - 
\-— 

a. 

* CL 

VS 

ol 

CL 

vo 

CL 1 a. CL 

a. n 

r 

ft- 

|L 

i I 

III 




ft 

n 

Iff 

rl 

T 

ni 

n fir—mm 

¥T 1 

Ia- 

I0S\ 

to 

cr> 

to 

% 

& 

VO 

_ 

ol 

VO 

VO 

! SI 

i 

• 

!s£ 

VO J 


/ "-Bunker j j ''Pump Room Fore Hold 

Boilers ''Starboard Tanks ’ 

n Diagram of main pipe lines. 


Therefore we have in No. 1 tank, Starboard line, No. 1 star¬ 
board suction, starboard line, and No. 1 port suction, starboard 
line. 

This arrangement holds throughout the system in all tanks. 

Therefore remember that four prime suctions are located in 
each tank, viz: Starboard line; Starboard suction, Port suc¬ 
tion, Port line; Port suction, Starboard suction. 

In special tankers designed to carry different grades of oil, 
cofferdams arfe placed between groups of main tanks and each 
group may have an independent system of piping. 

Some designs carry large crossover pipes at the ends of the 
main lines in the extreme forward and after tanks, but many 






































THE TANKER 


349 


authorities do not consider this necessary where double suctions 
are fitted in each tank. 

Stripping Lines are 2" to 6" pipe lines for clearing tanks, 
these do not generally have bell mouthed suctions. They dis¬ 
charge into main pipe lines or overboard on either side. Sepa¬ 
rate pumps are provided. 

V 

Valves 

Gate valves are fitted at the ends of the suction pipes leading 
into the tanks, these gates are worked from the shelter deck, in 
vessels of that type, and are opened and closed by means of 
long rods running up to the deck through proper stuffing boxes. 

Sometimes cross or angle valves are used to obtain better 
drainage. 

The construction of a gate valve should be familiar to the 
modern officer so we will not go into this further than to describe 
it as a metal door lifting into a recess when open and shutting 
down across the orifice of the pipe when closed. 


I'h'Steel Rod 




E ^ 

/ 

E 

E 


E 


at 

Y-o r 1 

GarqoTank 5 

V * 4 

- 

f 

'A 

CargoTank v 
#3 

*C : 

Cargo Tank 
c-A * 2 

5; /C 

-JLh.— 


1 = Cargo 
Tank 
k-A #1 


4 

X-B 

't 

10"Pipe* 

1‘b 


-B 

4- 


V 10 "Bell Mouth Suction 


Diagram of valve connections. Longitudinal section. 

It is important to know that the suctions in all tanks are located 
at the after ends of the compartments and when discharging it 
is well to have the vessel trimmed by the stern.* To this end 
watch the trim and empty the forward tanks first if possible. 

Also, to completely drain tanks the vessel must be given a 
list to port when cleaning out the starboard tanks, and vice 
versa , as the suctions are close to the midship bulkhead. 

* Tank barges generally have suctions forward. 





















350 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Suctions are generally bell mouthed and are sometimes fitted 
with strainers, and it is important that these be clean before 
taking oil on board. The bell mouths are about %" above tank 
bottoms. 

Master valves. These are gate or sluice valves (same thing) 
situated on the main pipe line itself in order that different com¬ 
partments may be worked as required. 


Valve Opera ting Rods 



Note'.- 

Op era ting Rods only shown on one Side 

Diagram of valve connections thwart ship section. 

Caution. Great care should be exercised in the use of valves. 
Study the system, be certain you know what you are about. 
The general practice is to paint valves according to the color 
chart. This system is in use by the vessels of the Standard Oil 
Co. and on many other tank vessels. See page 342. 

In addition to the colors, each valve should have a brass plate 
screwed down on deck alongside of the spindle stating clearing 






















THE TANKER 


351 


its function. Know at once whether a valve is open or closed. 
Be certain about this and do not be afraid to ask questions if 
need be. Valves should be fitted with an indicator showing 
whether opened or closed. 

Air valves. Each tank carries an air valve for each side. 

Air lines, served by blowers, are fitted to clear tanks of gas 
when emptied. 

Steam valves . Each tank carries steam valves for the heating 
coils and steam smothering lines . 

Steam lines, serve coils placed in the bottom of the tank, much 
after the fashion of a radiator, and in fact on the same principle. 
These coils are used for the purpose of keeping the cargo fluid. 
Where Mexican crude oil is carried it should not be allowed to 
cool down, as it will if the vessel proceeds northward into winter 
weather. The transference of temperature through the sides of 
a steel tank vessel is rapid and must be taken into consideration. 
For this reason the sea temperature must be carefully ob¬ 
served. The lighter oils are more quickly cooled than the heavy 
ones. 

Caution . When oil is heated the most careful handling of 
steam and exhaust valves is necessary to prevent blowing steam 
through too fast or of breaking coils by water hammer (the 
pounding of condensed water) in the coils. 

Note: Heater coils should have test cocks in return lines to 
show whether coils are leaking and oil going back to boilers. 
Coils return to inspection tank in engine room. 

American valves are all right-handed. British practice is to 
fit left-handed valves. 

In any ship the valves should all be the same. This is most 
important. 

Valve rods in tanks have a sliding fork connected to valve 
stem so that rod does not rise and fall with stem of valve. Col¬ 
lars are fitted to take the weight of the rod, and lignum vitae 
guides are fitted in the tanks. 


13 


352 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


VI 

Hatches 

Hatches on a tanker are comparatively small and are placed 
in groups of four close to the crossing of thwartship and fore and 
aft bulkheads. These hatches are usually edged by a coaming 
extending 6 inches to 30 inches above the deck and are closed by a 


Summer Tank 
Hatch} 


v o 


Athwart Ship 
Bulkhead 

- 


Trunk Bulkhead'' 


Centre Line 
Bulkhead 7 
v> 


4 * 


Trunk Bulkhead — 


V'' 


A 

''Summer Tank 
Hatch 


'Main 
Tank 
Hatches 


v = Vent Holes 

Tanker hatches. Vents should he fitted with copper wire gauze. 


steel plate resting on a gasket of plaited hemp or asbestos 
(rubber rots) and screwed down by dogs, much as a watertight 
door is held in position. 

Hatches are also held shut by brass nuts and steel bolts. 

Tanker hatches should be fitted with mechanical lifting means, 
falls or gears; they should never be lifted by hand. Hatches 





































THE TANKER 


353 


are hinged and are fitted with rest rods. Hatches are small, 
about 6' x 4' on main tanks, 4' x 2y 2 ' on summer tanks. 




Hatches should also be fitted with a smaller oil-tight cover, 
hinged so that ullages * may be taken without lifting the entire 
hatch. 

Vents. Each hatch is also fitted with an air hole, or sight 
hole, that must be unplugged when loading or discharging so 
that the air may escape or enter the tank as the oil level is 
changing. Vents and ullage holes are generally the same being 
used for both purposes. 


Other vents running through four inch pipes should be fitted 
to tanks with a gooseneck or automatic relief valve at the top and 
the ends should be covered 


with copper wire gauze. 

The automatic relief valves 
are also known as pressure and 
vacuum valves — and work 
both ways. They will not ad¬ 
mit sea water. 

VII 

The Mooring Lines and Hose 

Oil being a quick cargo, the 
usual precautions with respect 
to mooring lines, gangways, 
hose connection , etc., should be 
observed. 

Hose is usually carried over 
a curved saddle. At exposed 
anchorages hose is fastened 
with clamps. Keep a maul 
ready to knock off clamps if 
necessary. 

Prevent hose from chafing. 

VIII 



Expansion Trunks 


Method of slinging hose. 


As in the case of grain cargoes, the carriage of oil in tanks is 
made more safe by the construction of a trunkway above the 


* An ullage tank is a tank partly filled, also called a slack tank. 





















354 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


main cargo tanks. This expansion trunk, as it is called narrows 
down the upper level of the oil and as the oil expands and con¬ 
tracts (1/20 of one per cent, for each degree F. change in tem¬ 
perature) the lower tank remains filled, and the live surface of 
the oil is confined in its motion. 

Oil being a live load , it would be extremely dangerous to have 
tanks rising their full width with the resultant disruptive force 
of the free fluid acting against the bulkheads as the vessel 
moved in a seaway. 

Another method of avoiding this is to make use of upright 
cylindrical tanks. This method is most often used where regular 
cargo carriers are transformed into tankers, or where a part of 
the vessel is used for bulk oil and the remainder for dry cargo. 

In the regular tanker (to which we must confine our state¬ 
ments) the space on either side of the trunk is occupied by the 
summer tanks , separate wing tanks. 

These tanks may be longer than the main tanks, extending 
across the tops of two of the lower tanks. Summer tanks should 
never extend across the pump rooms. 

As oil in the main tanks may not bring a vessel down to her 
marks, these summer tanks are then utilized, either for addi¬ 
tional oil, or for other cargo. 

The summer tanks have their own hatches, and are fitted with 
separate pipe lines. Sometimes these tanks are only fitted with 
drop valves , to drop the oil into the lower tanks when dis¬ 
charging. 

The expansion trunks are never filled but the oil is generally 
carried four to six feet up in the trunk. The empty portion of 
the trunk is the ullage. 

Summer tanks are often designed for the carriage of dry 
cargo where light oils are taken in the main tanks and the 
vessel has sufficient buoyancy for extra freight. 

Where the summer tanks are used for the carriage of oil, 
the hatch opening forms the expansion trunk for the tank, as it is 
important that all tanks be full to avoid the swash of the oil. 

The summer tanks are usually served by a 6" line and by 
adhering to this line of pipe for filling different grades of oil 
may be safely loaded and discharged. 

When extra fuel oil is carried in the summer tanks, the tanks 
so utilized must be disconnected from the cargo pumps. 


THE TANKER 


355 


Where summer tanks have no separate system of pipes, they 
can only be filled to the level of the trunk oil, by opening the 
drop valves when filling lower tanks, allowing the oil to rise into 
the summer tanks. The summer tanks should then be so con¬ 
structed that they will be filled when this occurs. 

Summer tanks are sometimes fitted with heating coils, and 
should also be fitted with air pipes to drive out the gas. As 
many are without air pipes , officers should take this into account 
when sending men into the tanks. 

IX 

Important Points 

1. When loading or discharging two different grades of oil at 
once utmost care must be used to prevent mixing. Valves 
should be set and then checked by a second person before 
starting to move the oil. Remember this— Avoid mixing. 

2. When a tank is finished (empty) the pumps should be 
stopped, valves set and checked before starting another tank. 

3. When loading, as a tank becomes nearly full, the shore pump 
must be slowed down to “top off” to required level. 

4. When full, the shore pump must be stopped while valves 
are set and checked for next tank. 

5. Never start the pumps, ashore or aboard, without making 
doubly sure there is no valve closed or other obstruction in the 
line which might burst it. Always watch the discharge pressure 
gauge. If it goes up, shut off pump at once until cause is 
determined. 

6. When handling oil cargo display a red flag (B ) or red light 
between the fore and main masts. 

Deck* delivery line. This is the line rising from the main 
cargo pumps connecting to the pipe line on deck. 

When loading through the deck lines, using the shore pressure, 
the oil is sent through a by-pass around the pump on board 
ship and into the main pump line direct. 

The sea delivery line. This line runs from the main pump 
to the ships side. Two valves control this line, the outer sea 
valve next to the ship’s side, and the inner sea valve next to 
the pump. 


356 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Caution. Sometimes it is necessary to discharge ballast 
through the sea delivery line while cargo is being loaded in 
another part of the vessel. This is seldom done, but when 
necessary great care should be taken that the correct valves are 
opened and closed. 

Bilge suctions. The pump room has two bilge suction pipes, 
these being the only bilges in the vessel, except forward and 
aft of the oil tanks. Either an independent bilge pump is fitted, 
or extra suctions are connected to the cargo pumps. In either 
case the bilge pumping should be controlled by rods from the 
deck, in case a pipe breaks and floods the pump room. This 
may happen very quickly as the space is comparatively small. 
Pump-room ladders should at all times be kept clear. 

Barge delivery pipe. This is a branch pipe running through 
the ships side just above the load wateliner. Oil can be dis¬ 
charged into barges without lifting it up over the deck. 

Control of steam valves. The steam valves of all cargo 
pumps should be controlled from the deck. 

Signals. A bell-pull should be fitted from the deck to the 
pump room to signal orders when loading and discharging. 

Captain G. M. Brodthage, commanding the oil tanker Halsey , 
has kindly given me the following practical notes on the pumping 
out of tanks. 

“ We carry crude oil from Mexican ports to Bayonne, N. J., 
taking our cargo on board at a temperature of about 82° F. 
Twenty-four hours before making our discharging port we start 
the heater coils and bring the temperature to about 75° F. 

“ In pumping out tanks carrying crude oil difficulty is often 
experienced in completely emptying them. The heating coils, 
lying above the frames, may be three feet from the bottom of the 
tanks. In cold weather when the oil drops below the coils it 
may cool off to a point where the pumps are no longer able to 
take it out. This is specially so in the case of oil with grit, or 
other heavy impurities, which have settled to the bottom. 

“ I have found it a good practice to stop pumping in these 
tanks when the oil is a few inches above the coils and to go on 
with the pumping out of other tanks leaving the almost empty 
tank heat up to about a hundred degrees. When the residual 
oil is warm it is possible to get it all out without trouble as it 
holds its heat until the stripping lines suck. 

“ Unless this is done a vessel may carry out with her from two 
hundred to three hundred barrels of oil lying cold below the coils 
depending, of course, on the size of the tanks, height of coils, etc.” 


THE TANKER 


357 


A small steam jet is sometimes used when oil is being heated 
to expel gases rising from above the surface of the oil. 

Keep test hatches covered. Keep all screens in vents clear. 
Allow no visitors on board unless under proper supervision. 

The heating of oil is being investigated. A method of heating 
oil outside of the tanks, passing the warm oil back into the tanks 
is being developed. This does away with the troublesome heat¬ 
ing coils. Thi£ is the Row & Davis system. 

When changing grade of oil discharge, blow out hose. 

X 

Ballasting a Tanker 

As tankers, strictly speaking, are one way carriers, the question 
of ballast and trim is of much importance. 

Some authorities recommend the use of one main pipe line 
for cargo, and the other for ballast (Herbert John White, in 
Oil Tank Steamers) but the best American practice calls for the 
use of both pump lines in discharging in order to cut down the 
“ turn around.” 

The number of tanks to be loaded with “ ballast ” depends 
upon the trade and the season of the year. Weather conditions 
along the route should be known and the vessel managed 
accordingly. The carriage of excess water cost time and money, 
while too little will cause delays and may even endanger the 
vessel. One advantage, however, is the fact that extra ballast 
can be taken on, and excess ballast discharged almost at will 
as there is an ample supply at hand just over the side. 

Always ballast in alternate tanks while on a “ ballast passage.” 

When running with ballast have the empty holds carefully 
inspected by the officers for leaks. The vessel in a seaway will 
show up leaks in the bulkheads. These should be caulked, if 
possible, and if not the leaks should be marked and reported for 
attention when in port on overhaul. Also examine all pipes and 
valves. 

Once during the passage, if time permits, transfer the ballast 
and examine the holds previously filled with water. Empty 
tanks should be “ steamed ” during a “ ballast passage.” 

If not possible, fill the next series of holds on the succeeding 
“ ballast passage.” 


358 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


In ballasting avoid “ slack tanks,” that is tanks only partly 
full, for free water is even more vicious 
than free oil. 

The taking on of ballast through the sea 
valves is simple, and if in no particular 
hurry much of the ballast can be allowed 
to run in without pumping, until on a level 
with the load line. 

The reverse condition prevails in dis¬ 
charging, for the water in the trunks and 
above the load line will run out without us- 
ingthe pumps. 

Life on a tanker is one continuous prob¬ 
lem in the hydraulics of seamanship. Many 
officers, having learned their pipes , as it 
were, prefer this service to all others. 
Where decent shore periods are allowed the 
crew, this service has much to recommend 
it. 

Clean water . Do not ballast in a muddy 
river, or in a place filled with sewage. 
Some care in this respect will save a great 
deal of trouble and will add to the efficiency 
of pumps. 

Also, do not go out for clean water in a 
dangerous condition of stability. 

XI 

The Care of Tanks 

Before receiving oil the tanks must be 
ready for inspection by the persons ship¬ 
ping oil. It is well to have the tanks “ pass 
inspection ” and note same in the log in 
the event of future disputes with regard to 
the cleanliness and condition of the cargo. 

The tanks will have to be dry, before 
passing inspection. 

To clean a foul tank shut down the hatches, 


□i i 


tv 




First steaming. 
















THE TANKER 


359 


and fill with live steam from the smothering pipe (same as 
smothering pipes fitted in ordinary cargo holds). It is good 
practice to carry the smothering pipes to the bottom of the tank, 
as the hot vapor rises. A hole in the top would be useful for 
smothering in the event of fire, and with a full tank would func¬ 
tion with the lower end plugged by oil. 

Where no smothering lines are fitted a steam hose is led into 
the tank through the plug hole, which is stopped with an oakum 
and canvas gasket. 

The heat generated in the tank will melt down the thick oil 
which can then be pumped out. 

Steam for six hours, lift the hatches, and continue the steam 
for an hour or two more. 

Next shut off steam and turn on air. Sometimes a windsail 
in each hatch will help in the drying out. 

Then wash down top and sides of tank with water, using a 
hose with a good pressure. 

Before sending men into the tank for the washing, be certain 
that gas is out. Send first man down in a bowline (see French 
bowline, page 86). 

The bottom of tank is scrubbed with brooms, refuse and other 
solid matter lifted out in buckets, rose boxes are cleaned. 

Second steaming . Having gone so far, close down hatches 
and turn steam on for two hours more. Wash down again with 
hose. Pump out and turn on air. 

Oil wash. The tank is now ready for the wash with light oil. 
Gas oil is best. This is usually supplied by the shippers of the 
cargo. Fill each tank in turn with this oil and transfer it to the 
next. And send it through all pumps and lines. 

Having completed this process advise the shippers that you 
are ready to pump it ashore where it is again refined. 

The vessel being empty will trim aft, and the men are sent 
into each hold as it sucks dry to swab up air having been driven 
into the hold in sufficient quantity to clear the tank. Always use 
the bowline to make sure. 

The method given is used when a creosote oil has been carried. 
To clean up after a cargo of refined oil the second steaming and 
second washing are not usually required before washing out 
with gas oil. 


360 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


It is bad management to put dirty oil into a clean vessel as 
the clean tanks are a great asset. 

XII 

Repairs in Dry Dock—Precautions 

When tankers are put into dry dock and rivetings is to be 
done about the tanks or hatches, it is necessary to have the 
vessel “ gas free.” 

The three methods of doing this are as follows: 

1. Steam out and put down windsails. 

2. Force air into the holds by the blower. 

3. Fill tanks to overflowing with sea water so that any oil 
in the tank will float up and flow over the top. 

Very often these methods are combined, beginning with the 
last and following with the other two. 

Where red hot rivets are to be used, or electric torches, etc., 
it is most important that the tanks be absolutely “ gas free.” 

When a tank has been passed by a chemist as “ gas free ” 
no piping should be opened up without another test as gas lodged 
in the pipes may be liberated. 

Water tests. Where hydraulic tests are made each tank in 
turn must be filled and examined carefully from the dry sides. 
These should be perfectly dry before beginning the test. 

Every bulkhead must be examined under pressure from both 
sides in turn, except, of course, the pump-room bulkheads. 

Leaks are marked with chalk or paint. 

Before going into dock it is the custom to bring in two tanks 
filled with clean sea water for this test. 

In conclusion. After testing and repairs, sweep clean, make 
careful examination of the heating coils, as staging may have 
been dropped on them. Set up glands on expansion joints in 
piping. 

Caution. Never remove “ bleeders ” (bottom plugs) of oil 
tanks while in dry dock without obtaining permission from the 
dock master. There may be regulations with regard to running 
oil into the dock. Barrels may be used to catch the oil from the 
bleeders, if necessary. 

Do not caulk in a hold unless “ gas free.” A spark from the 
chisel may set off an explosive mixture. 


THE TANKER 


361 


Tankers must be very strict about the regulation of smoking 
and carrying naked lights. American custom is to only permit 
smoking abaft of the fire line, a red line painted at about the 
middle point of the poop deck house. Smoking is permitted in 
quarters. 

Caution! 

“ The body of S. H., 43 years old, who was drowned Saturday 
night in crude oil in the tanks-ship De Soto at Bayonne, N. J., 
was recovered early to-day, after 200,000 gallons of oil had been 
emptied from the vessel. 

“ The tanker reached Bayonne Saturday afternoon with a 
cargo of Mexican crude oil and docked at Pier 5, Constable 
Hook. That night H—, employed as a pumpman, went to 
repair a feed line that was leaking. When he failed to reappear 
on deck, members of the crew went in search of him. It is 
believed H— became overcome by the fumes and fell into 
the oil. The pumps worked continuously from the time of the 
accident until the body was recovered.”— From a news report . 

Suggestions for the Prevention of Explosions Aboard 
Oil Carriers Under Repairs 

Immediately following the fatal explosion aboard the Jack 
Tank steamer “ G. R. Crowe,” at the plant of James Shewan & 
Sons, Brooklyn, New York, October 6th, 1920: Continuous 
investigation and inquiry has revealed the absence of proper 
Rules and Regulations for the handling or repairing of oil burning 
or bulk oil carriers and a total lack of due regard of the explosive 
character of the gases and absolute necessity of freeing all oil 
carrying spaces of same before any work is started within such 
compartment, or adjacent thereto. 

It is an established fact, learned in many cases only by painful 
experience, that all tanks or compartments of vessels containing, 
or having contained fuel oil of any gravity whatsoever are ex¬ 
tremely dangerous, and special precautions are absolutely neces¬ 
sary to avoid accidents from explosions and fires. 

All existing methods have been tried, and all failed to render 
tanks non-explosive when the inevitable explosions occur. 

Gas is always generated wherever oil lies, whether the oil is 
in great quantity, the light coating left on sides of tanks or the 
heavy bottom scum or sediment, and this gas is explosive when 
mixed with air, being readily touched off by a spark or naked 
flame. 

To say that this gas is explosive when mixed with air is not 
theoretically true—the percentage of gas and air must be within 
certain limits—the mixture, however, has so often been by test 


362 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ non-explosive ” when explosions have occurred that this the¬ 
oretical condition should be forgotten and all gas treated as the 
ideal explosive mixture. 

Were it possible to discover the cause of all explosions, specific 
methods could be applied. It is our opinion that but one cause 
will cover, and that cause is “ Carelessness .” 

Admitting that all tanks with or having contained oil are 
explosive, the following precautions are essential before work is 
started: 

1. Compartments steamed for 12 hours, after which they 
should be hosed down with hot salt or fresh water, pumped out 
dry and steamed again for 24 hours more. Compartments then 
ventilated with assistance of mechanical blowers or windsails 
led to lowest possible point for 24 hours. Ventilation continued 
during work. 

During the first 12 hours of ventilation, the oil and scum to be 
mopped and scraped entirely out of every corner. Workmen to 
wear rubbers, or rubber boots, to avoid spark from contact with 
shoe nails and steel plating. No iron or tin scoops, or wire 
brushes to be used—Brass scoops or shovels only. Should 
ladders be necessary, only wooden ladders with no metal rungs, 
sides or ends to be used. 

2. Chemists’ samples of gas to be taken from all isolated parts 
upon completion of steaming and ventilating, and Certificate for 
gas (free) issued in writing to foreman in charge and posted at 
entrance to ship. This should be repeated every morning, before 
work is started and a new Certificate issued and posted. 

In order that the above may be more effective, signs 18 inches 
by 12 inches, on cardboard, should be posted on the Gangplank 
and about the ship in conspicuous places , to read as follows: 

Be Careful! 

1— This vessel carries oil. All compartments are dangerous 

unless cleaned and these precautions followed: 

2— No naked lights allowed. 

3— Smoking positively prohibited. 

4— Satisfy yourself that ChemisCs Certificate bears the date 

that you board the vessel. 

5— Wear rubbers or rubber boots. 

6 — Do not drop or throw tools. 

7— Avoid injury to all electric lines or cables. Report defective 

lights or wiring to foreman. 

8— Report your fellow workmen should they neglect any pre¬ 

caution. One (1 ) match or spark is sufficient to cause an 
explosion. 

Be Careful! 

Eads Johnson, M.E . 


THE TANKER 


363 


XIII 

General Remarks on the Tanker 

The following notes of interest to the tank vessel officer are 
taken from an excellent paper by Mr. Robert W. Morrell,* M.E., 
read before the twenty-fifth general meeting of the Society of 
Naval Architects and Marine Engineers November 15, 1917, on 
“ Recent Developments in Tank Steamer Construction.” (The 
subheads are inserted by the author of this book.) 

Shelter-decked Vessel 

“ Along with the increased size (in tankers) came the develop¬ 
ment of the shelter-deck type of vessel. The term ‘ shelter¬ 
decked type/ as commonly used in this country in referring to 
tankers, applies to a vessel having three continuous steel decks, 
the uppermost of which is the strength deck. A shelter-decked 
vessel according to the A.B.S. is one in which the uppermost or 
shelter deck is a light, continuous superstructure, with one or 
more tonnage openings. If without tonnage openings, it is an 
awning-decked vessel, while if the upper scantlings are heavier 
it becomes a spar-decked vessel. The commonly accepted use of 
the term ‘ shelter-decked vessel/ however, is in reference to any 
vessel having a continuous weather deck, as opposed to the type 
having raised forecastle, bridge and poop.” 

Oil Hatches and Gas Trunks 

“ The first shelter-decked tankers built in this country were 
the sister ships John D. Archhold and John D. Rockefeller , of 
11,500 tons deadweight each. These vessels had the oil tanks 
carried up to the upper deck, which is the next deck below the 
shelter deck. The oil hatches were located on the upper deck, 
and gas trunks were built around the hatches and extending 
from upper to shelter deck, to keep the gases from permeating 
the ’tween-deck space. 

“ Experience has proven these trunks a source of danger to 
the ships, as the heavy gases accumulate at the hatches and great 
caution is necessary to prevent men from being overcome when 
entering the tanks. Apparatus for clearing these spaces of gas 
has since been installed.” 

* The writer is indebted to Mr. Morrell for a great amount of valuable 
information pertaining to present-day American tank steamer practice. As 
a naval architect specializing in tanker design, Mr. Morrell is taking a lead¬ 
ing part in this rapidly growing field of marine activity. 


364 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Expansion Trunk 

“ The next step in the development of the shelter-decked 
type was the carrying of the expansion trunks right up to the 
shelter deck. This was embodied in the Charles Pratt and sub¬ 
sequent vessels of that type with great success. 

“ With this arrangement, the expansion trunk bulkheads 
extend from the second deck (or main deck or tank deck, as it is 
variously called) up to the shelter deck, thus making the expan¬ 
sion trunk two decks in height. The summer tanks are arranged 
outboard of the expansion trunk between the second and upper 
decks. The oil hatches for both main and summer tanks are 
located on the shelter deck, and small trunks, extending between 
the upper and shelter decks, are built for the summer tanks. 
Outboard of the expansion trunk, between the upper and shelter 

decks, are open ’tween-deck spaces above the summer tanks. 
>> 

“ There have recently been built several shelter-deck vessels 
in which the oil hatches are located on the upper deck, and the 
’tween-deck space is entirely open, without gas trunks, but the 
majority of the shelter decked ships are now of the type de¬ 
scribed, namely, with the trunk to the shelter deck. This type 
is highly satisfactory for an all-round tanker.” 

Mr. Morrell, in the course of this valuable paper, points out 
the following advantages of this construction that are of special 
interest to the seaman—we cannot quote him at length due to 
lack of space. 

“ The center of gravity of the cargo is higher, making an easier 
ship. 

“ On account of the oil hatches being on the shelter deck, the 
danger of getting gas in the ’tween deck is avoided. 

“ The vessel can be trimmed when loaded with much better 
results, as the expansion trunk extending through two deck 
heights gives great scope for the desired ullages. If the vessel 
has a tendency to trim by the head when leaving port on account 
of full fuel tanks forward, this can be overcome with the design 
in question by leaving large ullages forward and smaller ullages 
in the after cargo tanks. It is possible also, as the fuel is used, 
to maintain any desired trim by transferring the cargo. The 
deep trunks allow great leeway in this respect.” 

A Special Design 

“ A recent special design which is worthy of note is embodied 
in the tanker D. G. Scofield , in which the entire ’tween-deck 
space, between upper and shelter decks, is made suitable for 


THE TANKER 


365 


carrying case or barrel oil, in addition to the bulk cargo in the 
tanks. The oil hatches are on the upper deck and large cargo 
hatches are provided in the shelter deck each side of the center 
strake, which is continuous. Three masts are fitted with com¬ 
plete cargG handling gear consisting of booms and winches. 

“ This is another instance, however, of adaptation of a tanker 
to special trade. Such package cargo handling equipment on 
the majority of tankers would be useless. 

“ In considering the subject of shelter-decked tankers, the 
question naturally arises as to what determines whether a vessel 
shall be built with a shelter deck or a forecastle, bridge and 
poop deck. The answer is somewhat obscure, but the deter¬ 
mining factors seem to be mainly matters of size and of personal 
preference. The dividing line seems to be in the neighborhood 
of 10,000 or 11,000 tons deadweight, the vessels above that size 
being, almost without exception, shelter-decked vessels.” 

Subdivision of Tanks—Cofferdams—Fire Precautions 

“ A prominent feature of recent construction has been the 
subdivision of the cargo tanks into groups for the carrying of 
different grades of oil. If two different grades are separated by 
a single bulkhead there is danger that a leak in the bulkhead, 
permitting a mixing of the grades, will spoil the cargo. The 
first step was to place the pump room amidships, which, aside 
from being a most convenient location for pumping, divides the 
tanks into two groups in which different grades of oil can be 
loaded without danger of mixing. 

“ This was carried further and cofferdams inserted between 
the tanks. Some 15,000-ton deadweight tankers have ten main 
cargo tanks divided into three groups with a separate pumping 
system for each. Several smaller tankers have similar divisions. 

“ This is another example of the incorporation of special 
requirements for a special trade. As an extreme case, there is 
one vessel which has five cofferdams and a pump-room dividing 
the cargo tanks into four separate blocks. One of the coffer¬ 
dams, however, is located between the after fuel oil tank and the 
fire-room. Many of the modern tankers have this arrangement, 
which is a wise safety precaution originated on account of fires 
started by oil in the fire-room due to leaky bunker bulkheads. 

“ Where such cofferdams are built, they are provided with 
tunnels for use in the event of the vessels burning coal. The 
tunnels are blanked by oil-tight bolted doors on each end, but 
if used for coal the oil-tight doors will be removed and vertical 
sliding bunker doors fitted. The fuel-oil piping passing through 
the cofferdam is fitted with a valve on each bulkhead, the valve 
on the bunker side being controlled from the deck. The coffer- 


366 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


dam is also provided with a sea valve controlled from the deck, 
for flooding in case of fire. Thus, if a fire originates in the boiler- 
room, it can be isolated from the fuel supply, while if the fire 
starts in the tanks the propelling machinery can be kept intact.” 

A Short Essay on Tanker Design 

“ Practically every oil company and every shipyard has its own 
standard type of tanker, or in many cases three or four standard 
types, all varying in accordance with the different needs of the 
business and with the different ideas as to how these needs are 
best met. 

“ It has already been pointed out that special vessels are 
required for special trades in order to obtain the best results. 
A vessel designed to carry heavy oil is not suitable for transport¬ 
ing refined oil, and vice versa. A vessel designed for straight 
cargo is not suitable for a mixed cargo, but a vessel designed for 
mixed cargo is needlessly complicated and expensive for shipping 
straight cargo. Owners trading on the west coast only naturally 
desire to take advantage of the deep water to adopt wholesome 
proportions of length to depth, whereas other owners, trading in 
ports where draught is restricted, must adopt different propor¬ 
tions. Some trades require vessels with fuel capacity for ten 
days, others for forty days. In many cases large vessels are 
the most economical, but large vessels cannot be built in all 
yards and cannot enter all ports. 

“ It is obviously impossible to find a single vessel to meet all 
requirements, and if an attempt at a compromise is made it will 
place practically every oil company at a disadvantage in having 
to operate vessels which are not quite suitable. 

“ The nearest approach to efficient standardization would be in 
the adoption of at least four standard designs, consisting of two 
vessels, a large one and a small one, for the sole purpose of 
carrying cargoes of heavy oil, and two vessels, a large one and a 
small one, especially for carrying mixed cargoes of light oil. 

“ In carrying heavy oil, such as fuel oil or crude oil, it is 
possible to load different kinds in the same vessel without danger 
of mixing, due to leakage or due to pumping one kind through 
the same pipe line as another. Therefore there is no need of 
subdividing the tanks for different grades. 

“ The smaller vessel for this purpose would naturally be of 
the forecastle, bridge and poop type, and the larger one of the 
shelter-decked type. In both cases small fuel tanks for bunker 
use are sufficient, as it is possible for a long voyage to carry 
half a main cargo tank of fuel, or to carry it in summer tanks. 
The permanent fuel-oil tanks should consist of a short tank at 
the forward end of the cargo tanks, and another at the after end, 


THE TANKER 


367 


thus enabling the vessel to be trimmed as the fuel is used. 
With this arrangement no cofferdams whatever are required in 
the vessel. The pump-room in this type of vessel should be 
located between the aiter-fuel tank and the boiler-room, thus 
separating the oil from the fires, and should contain the fuel-oil 
pumps and heaters as well as two cargo-oil pumps. A simple 
system of cargo-oil piping whereby both pumps can draw from 
the tanks and discharge overboard independently is sufficient. 
The summer tanks may be fitted with drop-valves, connecting 
them with the main tanks, or they may be piped for fuel oil, as 
conditions require. All tanks in these vessels should be fitted 
with heater coils. * 

“ For the standard vessels intended to carry mixed cargoes of 
light gravity oils, the smaller would be of the forecastle, bridge 
and poop type and the larger of the shelter-decked type with 
expansion trunks carried up to the shelter deck. In both vessels 
rather larger fuel-tank capacity is required. On account of the 
danger in carrying naphtha next to fuel oil, cofferdams should be 
provided at each end of the cargo tanks. The cargo pump-room 
should be located amidships, thus dividing the cargo tanks into 
two groups. For safety, a cofferdam between the after fuel tank 
and the fire-room should be provided and the oil-burning appar¬ 
atus installed in a separate enclosure in the fire-room wing. 
A fuel pump is required forward to transfer fuel aft from the 
forward tank. The cargo oil-piping system should permit of the 
pumping of different grades of oil from the forward and after 
groups of cargo tanks simultaneously and independently, with¬ 
out the two grades using any piping in common. The cargo 
piping must not extend into the fuel tanks. The summer tanks 
should be piped separately. Special precautions against gas 
must be provided, and the gas vents from the tanks fitted with 
automatic relief valves. Special ventilation for the pump-room 
and cofferdams must be furnished. 

“ The foregoing outlines briefly the minimum that could be 
expected in the standardization of tankers.” 

A.B.S. Rules for Ships Intended to Carry Oil in Bulk 

(1) General. Vessels which are intended for the carriage of 
petroleum in bulk and to receive the classification mark (Oil 
Carrier) are to have an expansion trunk over each oil compart¬ 
ment with a capacity of not less than 6 per cent, of the capacity 
of the compartment with which they are connected. The oil 
holds are not to exceed 30 feet in length and are to be divided 
longitudinally by an oil-tight bulkhead which is to extend from 
the keel to the top of the expansion trunk. The attention of 
owners is drawn to the Panama and Suez Canal regulations for 
ships laden with oil in bulk. 

14 


368 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


(2) Cofferdams at least 3 feet wide, thoroughly oil-tight and 
well ventilated, are to be fitted at each end of each section of the 
vessel intended for the carriage of oil, so as to completely isolate 
that section from cargo and machinery spaces. All machinery, 
boilers and galleys must be completely isolated from the oil 
spaces and oil pump rooms. Where it is necessary to run a shaft 
tunnel through oil spaces, the tunnel is to be circular, isolated 
from the engine room, entered by a separate trunkway from the 
deck, and provided with a large ventilator at each end. 

(3) All oil compartments are to be efficiently ventilated; the 
free escape of gases from all parts of the oil spaces must be 
secured by means of holes in every part, where otherwise there 
might be a chance of the gases being “ pocketed.” Special 
attention must also be paid to the effective ventilation of coffer¬ 
dams, pump rooms and other spaces; efficient means are to be 
provided for clearing oil spaces of dangerous vapors by means 
of artificial ventilation or by steam. Where a double bottom is 
fitted at least four large ventilating pipes should be fitted to each 
double bottom compartment. The outlet and inlet of all venti¬ 
lators above deck must be fitted with wire gauze protectors. 
Plans of the ventilating arrangements are to be submitted for 
approval. 

(4) Pumping arrangements for spaces not intended for the 
carriage of oil, are to be entirely independent of the oil pumping 
system; the suction pipes in connection therewith should not 
pass through oil spaces; the pipes for the oil pumping system 
are not to pass through water spaces. Satisfactory arrange¬ 
ments are to be made for draining ’tween decks which form the 
crown of oil tanks. Plans of all the pumping and piping arrange¬ 
ments are to be submitted for approval. 

(5) Cement will not be required on the bottom of spaces 
intended solely for the carriage of oil in bulk. 

(6) Electric light is to be fitted throughout on the double-wire 
system. Switches and cut outs are not to be fitted in spaces 
where there may be accumulations of petroleum vapor or gas; 
lamps in such spaces are to be enclosed in air-tight glass globes 
and the wiring is to be lead covered where the insulation is of a 
character which is liable to injury by petroleum. 

XIV 

Oil Cargo 

There are almost as many different kinds of oil as there are 
different kinds of dry cargo. Each oil has its peculiar properties 
and should be studied and handled accordingly. 


THE TANKER 


369 


Light oils which emit gas should be loaded with hatches down 
and plug hole open to admit of the escape of air. Such oils are 
generally carried as far forward as possible away from the ^ 
This also gives better trim conditions. , 

When loaded the things containing light oils shoukl screwed 
down at once. 

As water is heavier than oil, a partly filled tank loaded with 
naptha or other light oils such as gasolene, benzine, or kerosene, 
may be completely filled by pumping in clean water which forces 
the oil up into the expansion trun^. 

In discharging this sea water r 0 mes out first and care must be 
exercised to shut off the discharge at the right time, in a crowded 
harbor it may be necessary to send this water into a settling 
tank ashore. J 

Water should not ^e used under fuel oil, and with heavy oils 
carried as cargo ii- should be used only when no other safe 
method of stowage, can be found. Use summer tanks for part 
tank load. 

Oil cargoes ar e tested for temperature each day when the 
ullages are checked up, and this data is entered in the log. 

Sounding. Tj se an ordinary sounding rod, chalked carefully. 
Let this dowr fthrough the oil touching the bottom of the tank. 
On bringing^ it up> through light oils, the chalk will be found to 
have been; tJ washe( i 0 ff where the rod has been in the bottom 
water. T :his me thod will not work with heavy oils. 

Anot + Wer method of sounding for water is the use of the “ water 
finde This j s a cylinder of brass about two feet long marked 
off 5n inches. A strip of litmus paper is fastened to the finder 
witl ii brass sliding rings. Discoloration of the litmus strip shows 
the ^presence of water in the tank bottom, and this is measured 

^nash^M. The flash point of an oil is the temperature at 
which it gives off an explosive vapor. 

The flash point of naphtha is 62 degrees F. 

The flash point of fuel oil is about 180 degrees F. 

These points vary and the flash point of any oil should be 
known to the master and officers of the vessel before loadmg^ 
Specific gravity. The specific gravity of an oil is the ratio 
between the weight of a cubic foot of the oil and a cubic foot of 



370 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


fresh water; where shown 60/60 it means that these densities 
are referred to that common temperature. 

hydrometers are used for this measurement. The Baume- 
hydrometer gives the density of a fluid in degrees “ Baume ” 

Degrees Bail!?® and Corresponding Sp. Gr. of Oil, Lbs. per 
' - Gal., and Gal. per Lb. 


Degrees 

Baume 


10.0 

10.5 
11.0 

11.5 
12.0 

12.5 
13.0 

13.5 
14.0 

14.5 

15.0 

15.5 
16.0 

16.5 
17.0 

17.5 
18.0 

18.5 
19.0 

19.5 

20.0 

20.5 
21.0 

21.5 
22.0 

22.5 
23.0 

23.5 
24.0 

24.5 

25.0 

25.5 
26.0 
.26.5 
27.0 

27.5 


Specific 
Gravity at 
6o°/6o° F. 


1.0000 

0.9964 

0.9929 

0.9894 

0.9859 

0.9825 

0.9790 

0.9756 

0.9722 

0.9688 

0.9655 

0.9622 

0.9589 

0.9556 

0.9524 

0.9492 

0.9459 

0.9428 

0.9696 

0.9365 

0.9333 

0.9302 

0.9272 

0.9241 

0.9211 

0.9180 

0.9150 

0.9121 

0.9091 

0.9061 

0.9032 

0.9003 

0.8974 

0.8946 

0.8917 

0.8889 


Pounds 

per 

Gallon 

^Gallons 

'er 

-ud 

Pou., 

D egrees 
Baume 

Specific 
Gravity at 
6o°/6o° F. 

Pounds 

per 

Gallon 

Gallons 

per 

Pound 



28.0 

0.8861 

7.378 

0.1355 

8.328 

0.1201 v 

28.5 

0.8833 

7.355 

0.1360 

8.299 

0.1205 

'*-29.0 

0.8805 

7.332 

0.1364 

8.269 

8.240 

0.1209 

0.1214 

2q:j , 

0.8777 

7.309 

0.1368 

8.211 

0.1218 


V'8750 

7.286 

0.1373 



30.0 

,"723 

7.264 

0.1377 

8.172 

0.1222 

30.5 


7.241 

0.1381 

8.153 

0.1227 

31.0 

0*8655 

7.218 

0.1385 

8.125 

0.1231 

31.5 

0.86to 

7.196 

0.1390 

8.096 

0.1235 

32.0 

0.864 



8.069 

0.1239 


G 

7.173 

0.1394 



32.5 

0.8615 

7.152 

0.1398 

8.041 

0.1244 

33.0 

0.8589 

7.130 

0.1403 

8.013 

0.1248 

33.5 

0.8563 

f 7.108 

0.1407 

7.986 

0.1252 

34.0 

0.8537 


0.1411 

7.959 

0.1256 

34.5 

0.8511 

^ 7.087 


7.931 

0.1261 



V 7 .065 

0.1415 



35.0 

0.8485 

/7 t044 

0.1420 

7.904 

0.1265 

35.5 

0.8459 

7. *-.02 

0.1424 

7.877 

0.1270 

36.0 

0.8434 

7.0?'7 

0.1428 

7.851 

0.1274 

36.5 

0.8408 

7.00 Jh 

0.1433 

7.825 

0.1278 

37.0 

0.8383 

6.980 


7.799 

0.1282 



0 

1 0.1437 



37.5 

0.8358 

6.960 

0.1441 

7.772 

0.1287 

38.0 

0.8333 

6.939 

l ’446 

7.747 

0.1291 

38.5 

0.8309 

6.918 

0 . i “> 5o 

7.721 

0.1295 

39.0 

0.8284 

6.898 

0.143.54 

7.696 

0.1299 

39.5 

0.8260 

6.877 

0.14c' 

7.670 

0.1304 




,# 

r!59 



40.0 

0.8235 

6.857 

0*1 '463 

7.645 

0.1308 

40.5 

0.8211 

6.837 

o.r 4.57 

7.620 

0.1313 

41.0 

0.8187 

6.817 j 

0 . 1 '_ 

7.595 

0.1317 

41.5 

0.8163 

6.797 | 

0.1471 

7.570 

0.1321 

42.0 

0.8140 

6.777 1 

0.1476 

7.546 

0.1325 







42.5 

0.8116 

6.758 1 

0.1480 

7.522 

0.1330 

43.0 

0.8092 

6.738 I 

0.1484 

7.497 

0.1334 

43.5 

0.8069 

6.718 

0.1489 

7.473 

0.1338 

44.0 

0.8046 

6.699 

0,1493 

7.449 

0.1342 

44.5 

0.8023 

6.680 

0.1497 

7.425 

0.1347 







50.0 

0.7778 

6.476 

0.1544 

7.402 

0.1351 

50.5 

0.7756 

6.458 

0.1548 































THE TANKER 


371 


and this can be converted into specific gravity by the opposite 
table: 

A temperature correction must be applied when the oil is above 
or below 60 degrees F. 

For complete oil tables see Circular 57, Bureau of Standards, 
Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 

Viscosity. Viscosity may be defined as the resistance to 
internal movement, or the internal friction of a liquid. It may 
be measured by observation of the ability of the liquid to oppose 
the movement of a body through it, or more commonly by noting 
the time required for a definite quantity of the liquid to pass 
through an orifice or short pipe under known conditions of 
temperature and head. In stating viscosity the name of the 
instrument used must be given, also the temperature at which 
it was run. Viscosimeters in use are the Engler, Redwood, and 
Say bolt. 

The Engler Viscosimeter is specified for U. S. Navy fuel oil 
tests. It consists of an oil chamber, with platinum tube out¬ 
let, surrounded by water bath. For high temperatures an 
oil bath is used. The platinum outlet is 20 mm. long, with a 
bore of 2.9 mm. diam. at top and 2.8 mm. at bottom. A volume 
of 200 c.c. of the oil to be tested is allowed to flow out and the 
time is noted in seconds. The number of seconds required for 
200 c.c. water to flow out at the temperature of 20 deg. C. (68 
deg. F.) is then determined (50 to 52 sec. in the standard instru¬ 
ment). Viscosity is found by dividing the time required for 
the outflow of oil by the time of outflow of water. 

Tank Barges are generally without summer tanks, except the 
largest ones in which the tank arrangement is like that of the 
power tanker. 

Molasses Tankers. Vessels designed for the carriage of mo¬ 
lasses have smaller tanks because of the greater density of the 
cargo. This is a special and restricted trade and is only men¬ 
tioned here in passing. 

Oil tank vessels are sometimes used for the carriage of 
molasses. To prepare for this cargo steam from io to 24 hours 
and flush with clean salt water. Clean corners and pipe lines. 
Never use heater coils on molasses. Keep all vents open. 

To clean for oil cargo wash thoroughly with salt water. Do 
not use steam. 





CHAPTER 12 


PASSENGER VESSELS 

I 

General Remarks 

The carriage of passengers is so important a part of sea trade 
that a special chapter is necessary for the setting down of the 
United States Navigation Laws governing the trade; and to 
outline the many duties connected therewith. Most of the 
regulations cover what is known as “ Immigrant ships,” and 
the officer in charge of vessel in this trade must thoroughly 
understand the scope and meaning of the law. 

The regulation of a ship filled with several thousand passengers 
drawn from every strata of society calls for the most careful and 
circumspect conduct on the part of the officers. The Master 
especially is charged with duties calling for tact and considera¬ 
tion of the highest order. 

The Passenger Act of 1882, with amendments, should be 
carefully studied.* Such matters as the number of passengers 
to be carried, the cubic capacity of passenger spaces, the number 
of life boats, life preservers, etc. are prescribed by this law and 
are certified to in the ship’s Certificate of Inspection. 

The Master will see to it that the limitations and require¬ 
ments with respect to passengers are rigidly enforced. 

Many other matters enter into the carriage of passengers that 
are not strictly matters of seamanship, but the whole question 
of order and discipline is one of seamanship, and in case of 
emergency, is of vital importa nee in the safeguarding of lives 
and property. 

II 

Station Bill 

The following is taken from the Rules and Regulations of the 
Steamboat-Inspection Service, Department of Commerce, as 
amended to July 2, 1920. 

* See U. S. Navigation Laws or The Men on Deck. 

372 


PASSENGER VESSELS 


373 


Station Bills, Drills, and Reports of Masters 

It shall be the duty of the officer in charge of every steamer 
carrying passengers and all other vessels of over 500 gross tons 
propelled by machinery and subject to inspection to cause to be 
prepared a station bill for his own department, and one also for 
the engineer’s department, in which shall be assigned a post or 
station of duty for every person employed on board such vessel 
in case of fire or other disaster, which station bills shall be placed 
in the most conspicuous places on board for the observation of 
the crew. And it shall be the duty of such master, or of the 
mate or officer next in command, once at least in each week, 
to call all hands to quarters and exercise them in the discipline, 
and in the unlashing and swinging out of the lifeboats, weather 
permitting, and in the use of the fire pumps and all other appar¬ 
atus for the safety of life on board of such vessel, with especial 
regard for the drill of the crew in the method of adjusting life pre¬ 
servers and educating passengers and others in this procedure 
and to see that all the equipments required by law are in com¬ 
plete working order for immediate use; and the fact of the 
exercise of the crew, as herein contemplated, shall be entered 
upon the vessel’s log book, stating the day of the month and 
hour when so exercised; and it shall be the duty of the inspectors 
to require the officers and crew of all such vessels to perform the 
aforesaid drills and discipline in the presence of the said in¬ 
spectors at intervals sufficiently frequent to assure the said 
inspectors by actual observation that the foregoing requirements 
of this section are complied with. The master of every such 
vessel shall also report monthly to the local inspectors the day 
and date of such exercise and drill, the condition of the vessel 
and her equipment, and also the number of passengers carried, 
and any neglect or omission on the part of the officer in com¬ 
mand of such vessel to strictly enforce this rule shall be deemed 
cause for the suspension or revocation of the license of such 
officer. 

The general fire-alarm signal shall be a continuous rapid 
ringing of the ship’s bell for a period of not less than 20 seconds, 
and this signal shall not be used for any other purpose what¬ 
soever. The master of any vessel may establish such other 


374 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


emergency signals, in addition to the ringing of the ship’s 
bell, as will provide that all the officers and all the crew of 
the vessel will have positive and certain notice of the existing 
emergency. 

One copy of this section shall be furnished every vessel to 
which this section applies, which copy shall be framed under glass 
and posted in a conspicuous place on the vessel. (Sec. 4405, 
R. S.) 

Lifeboat drill may be divided into two parts: 

(a) Training of the crew of each lifeboat in the swinging out 
and lowering of boats, direction and stowing of passengers, use 
of oars and other equipment. 

(b) Training of the entire crew as a unit in their duties when 
it becomes necessary to abandon ship. The efficiency of the 
crew as a unit can be attained only by frequent and thorough 
drills of the entire crew. 

The duties connected with the stations for boats and fire may 
be summarized as follows: 

1. Vessels over 500 gross tons, subject to inspection, or carry¬ 
ing passengers (any tonnage). 

2. Must prepare a station bill assigning post and duty for 
every person on board in case of fire or disaster. 

3. Bills must be placed in conspicuous places on board. 

4. Boat and fire drill at least once each week. 

5. Date and time of drill entered in ship’s log book. 

6. Drills to be performed in presence of U. S. Local Inspectors 
when required. 

7. Master to make monthly report to U. S. Local Inspectors, 
stating date of drills,’condition of vessel and her equipment, 
number of passengers carried. 

8. Neglect of Master to strictly enforce above requirements 
of this rule shall be deemed cause for the suspension or revoca¬ 
tion of his license. 

The preparation of station bills differs slightly in different 
services. Where passengers are carried on large Transatlantic 
and Transpacific liners, the station bill embodies all of the 
requirements for safety. In freight ships, where the crew alone 
is to be considered a much simpler bill is needed, but the general 
principles are the same. 


PASSENGER VESSELS 


375 


By assigning each member of the crew a station number, the 
bill need not be changed as men are discharged and shipped. 
Each man should be given a numbered bunk corresponding to 
his station number, if this can be arranged. These numbers 
should also appear against the name of the man on the ship’s 
articles. 

Fire Drill 

The alarm of Fire will be the Rapid Ringing of ship’s bell 
followed by 1 tap if fire is Forward, 2 taps if fire is Amidships 
and 3 taps if fire is Aft. All members of crew, excepting those 
specially excused on account of being on duty which cannot be 
avoided, must immediately proceed to their stations, stretch 
out the hose and otherwise see that the apparatus under their 
charge is ready. They must remain by same until further 
orders. 

Men in charge of bulkhead doors will immediately close same 
and keep them closed until further orders. 

Alarm blasts on the steam whistle (1 long and 4 short blasts) 
calls every member of crew (except those unavoidably on duty 
elsewhere) to the boat stations. The men must muster at their 
boats as quickly as possible and remain there, taking their 
orders from the officer or seaman in charge of the boat. 

The ringing of the electric alarm bell means that for some 
urgent reason all members of crew must immediately leave their 
quarters and muster in an orderly manner on the lower deck 
awaiting further orders. 

Muster List 


The Muster List herewith assigns duties to the different 
members of the crew in connection with: 

A. The closing of the watertight Carpenters, Deck, Engineer, 

doors, valves, etc. 

B. The equipment of the boats 

and rafts, generally, to 

C. The launching of the boats 

attached to davits. 

D. The general preparation of 

the other boats and rafts. 

E. The muster of passengers. 

F. The extinguishing of fire. 


Engine, Steward, Cabins. 
Chief Officer and Junior Offi¬ 
cer. 

An Officer or Able Seaman. 

Chief Officer and Junior Offi¬ 
cer. 

Purser and Chief Steward. 
Chief Officer. 


376 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Muster List hereby assigns to the members of the Stew¬ 
ard's Department their several duties in relation to passengers 
at a time of emergency. 

These duties shall include: 

A. Warning the passengers. 

Seeing that the passengers 
are dressed and have put 
on their life jackets in a 
proper manner. 

Assembling the passengers. 


B. 


C. 


Stewardesses. 
Stateroom Stewards. 


Chief Steward and Senior 
Assistant Stewards. 

Purser and Asst. Stewards. 


D. Keeping order in the pas¬ 
sages and on the stairways 
and, generally, controlling 
the movement of the pas¬ 
sengers. 

The Muster List specifies definite alarm signals for calling 
all the crew to the boat and fire stations. 


Boat Stations 

1. Muster at stations. Put on life-belts. 

2. See that the boat-falls are made fast. 

3. Remove boat covers and boat-falls, pass out painters, and 
see that boat-falls are clear for running. 

4. Cast adrift gripes. 

5. Heave on boat-falls to take weight of boat. 

6. Turn down chocks. 

7. Cast adrift guys and heave out boat. 

8. Man boat and lower away on both tackles. 

9. Either lower boat right into the water or to the passenger 
deck rail to embark passengers as the Commander may direct. 

10. When lowering the boat into the water, let go both boat- 
falls directly the boat touches the water. Release gear. The 
two men lowering the boat will slide down the falls into the boat 
as soon as she is in the water and the falls let go. 

11. Where a second boat is to be launched from the same 
davits the second boat’s crew will have her all prepared (cover 
off, gripes adrift, etc.) during the lowering of the first boat, and 
as soon as the first boat is away they will round up the falls and 
launch their boat. 


Deck Department Engine Department Passenger Department 


PASSENGER VESSELS 


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Note. Four pages showing part of a Station Bill are given here. Lack of space forbids publication of the entire bill. 
Study the Station Bill on board your vessel. 















































Station Bill—Continued 


378 


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AT.R .—Captain will have Numbers of boats inserted in proper rotation; also the Numbers indicating the members of the 
Crew. 











































PASSENGER VESSELS 


381 


N.B.—Members of the Crew must recognize the man ap¬ 
pointed to be in charge of the boat , whether officer or seaman. 
He must be recognized by the boaVs Crew as being in charge. 

General Instructions for Fire Drill 

1. Upon hearing the signal for fire quarters, each member of 
the crew will take a station quickly, quietly, and without crowding 
or confusion. 

2. Upon hearing the alarm, attend to your specific duty, which 
may be any of the following: (Rapid ringing of ships bell, see 
p. 375). 

(a) Leading out and clearing away hose. 

(b) Seeing that nozzles are coupled and secure. 

(c) Opening valves to fire lines. 

(d) Hand pumps clear for operating. 

(e) Water tight doors closed. 

(f) Fire extinguishers taken from racks and to stand by for 

instructions. 

(g) Standing by with filled water buckets. 

(h) Standing by with fire axes under direction of Chief Officer 

or Master. 

(i) Standing by to assist passengers and distributing life 

preservers. 

(j) Attending and turning on emergency lights distributed 

throughout the vessel. 

(k) Starting fire pump under direction of engineer. 

3. Attention is called to the fact that each master of a vessel 
may have individual ideas of the method of conducting drill and 
the assignment of crew. Also, it devolves upon each member of 
the force on board to learn thoroughly the method used on the 
particular vessel on which he serves and abide by the wishes of 
the master. 

4. Upon the conclusion of fire drill—“ Secure ” is usually 
given by one stroke of ship’s bell, and upon hearing this signal 
each member of the crew will stand by at his station for the 
“ dismissed ” signal. 

General Boat Alarm Signal may be six short blasts of steam 
whistle or sounding on the siren. 


382 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


General Instructions for Boat Drill 

1. Upon hearing the signal for “ abandoning ship,” each 
member of the crew will take his station quickly, quietly, and 
without crowding or confusion. 

2. Upon hearing the alarm, attend to your specific duty, which 
may be any of the following: 

(a) Attending forward or after boat fall, clearing away same 

and making ready for running. 

(b) Removing boat cover and casting off gripes. 

(c) In boat and put on cap of automatic plug. 

(d) Taking out or releasing boat chocks. 

(e) Casting off forward or after guys after the boat is hoisted 

and rehooking after boat is swung out. 

(f) In boat and bearing off when being lowered. 

(g) . Securing side ladder. 

(h) In boat and casting off releasing hook lanyards or standing 

by releasing gear lever. 

(i) Directing passengers and assisting in the distribution of 

life preservers. 

(j) Casting off the lashings of life rafts. 

(k) Attending painter of boat or raft. 

3. Attention is called to the fact that each Master of a vessel 
may have individual ideas of the method of conducting drill and 
the assignment of crew. Also, it is encumbent upon each mem¬ 
ber of the force on board to learn thoroughly the method used on 
the particular vessel on which he serves and abide by the wishes 
of the master. 

4. Upon the conclusion of boat drill “ Secure ” is usually 
given by one stroke of ship’s bell, and upon hearing this signal 
the boats are hoisted, swung in and replaced in their chocks. 
The crew will then stand by for “ dismissed ” signal. 

Miscellaneous Remarks on Duties at Fire and Boat Drill 

1. If you do not understand your duties explicitly, request 
one of the Mates or instructors to explain them to you. 

2. When leading out hose, see that there are no kinks. 

3. See that the brakes are set on hand pump. 

4. Do not invert fire extinguishers until ready for action. 

5. Drain hose before coiling. 


PASSENGER VESSELS 


383 


6. Be sure you know the proper method of belaying a fall and 
lowering away a boat by means of a turn on the davit cleat. 

7. Proper method of adjusting the boat plug, and of handling 
releasing device should be understood. 

8. Do not give commands to others but obey those given by 
the officer in charge of your fire squad or in charge of your 
particular boat. 

9. If a signal is heard by you, quickly determine if fire or boat 
alarm. 

The reader is referred to the chapters on Boats and on Haud- 
ling a Steamer for further consideration of Fire, Abandoning 
ship, Collision, etc. 

Ill 

Baggage 

The stowage of passenger baggage, marked “ Not Wanted On 
Voyage ” is a special duty and generally devolves upon the 
supervision of one of the officers who is designated “ baggage 
officer,” and has general charge of the baggage hold or trunk. 
In the S.S. St. Louis } during her prime as a passenger carrier, 
this duty fell to the Senior Second Officer, and such baggage was 
stowed in a deep trunk hatch filling up the space above the specie 
room. To get at the treasure it was first necessary to hoist out a 
thousand trunks or so. A special king post rig was available for 
hoisting this baggage out quickly and on approaching port, in 
fine weather, the greater part of it was got up on deck before 
coming alongside. It was then slid down on the dock for cus¬ 
toms inspection on long skids. 


IV 

Mails 

Mail steamers on Transatlantic and Transpacific routes are 
usually vessels of the first class and the handling of mail is 
placed under the supervision of one of the junior officers who 
has his station at the mail hatch on the day of sailing. Mail 
usually comes on board at the last moment and must be checked 
with great care. The sea post officer of the postal department, 
who travels with the vessel, where one is carried, is directly 


384 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


responsible and signs for the mail, having charge of it during 
the passage. In the Transatlantic Service the foreign mail bound 
for America is sorted during the passage across in the ship’s 
post office, under the direction of this officer. 

Ship’s officers are responsible for the quick dispatch over the 
side, and should have charge of the slinging and handling of the 
mail sacks on deck. Where mail is being discharged into a mail 
boat, care should be taken to have nets under the slings. 

V 

Specie 

Most first-class vessels have a specie room and from time to 
time transport great quantities of gold and silver. This is 
specially so of vessels in the Transatlantic Trade. The specie 
room is a strong box located near the bottom of the vessel. A 
good plan is to locate this room at the bottom of a trunk hatch, 
and after the specie is on board fill the hatch with the baggage 
not wanted on voyage. This makes it impossible to get at the 
treasure without hoisting out the entire cargo of baggage. 

In slinging specie use a wire net, and have a stout treasure 
net suspended under the gangway. 

Silver comes in pigs and is usually slid down wooden skids. 

Gold is generally carried in kegs and should be slung in nets. 

The ship’s Purser usually signs for the specie himself. The 
Master, however, is directly responsible and where specie is 
carried should satisfy himself that all necessary precautions are 
being taken. 


CHAPTER 13 


BOATS 

I 

General—Types of Construction 

For many years the small boat carried by merchant vessels 
was subject to neglect. Vessels went on long voyages with their 
boats bottom up lashed to skids, or perhaps the long boat was 
used as a convenient place for the chicken coop with its attendant 
filth. Tramp steamers worried around the world with boats 
sinking into their chocks and falls stiff and burned by smoke 
and sun or smeared with paint. Few merchant men knew how 
to pull an oar and the lowering and hoisting of boats in a seaway 
was seldom attempted. On many passenger lines boat stations 
were held in port while no passengers were on board as such 
reminders of possible disaster were supposed to have a bad 
effect on timid people. 

These conditions were gradually amended* until the years of 
the World War when the importance of boats and boat equipment 
was driven home to all concerned. At the present time the 
importance of life boat equipment is better understood but 
much remains to be done to perfect boat, handling, rigging, and 
care. The writer feels strongly on the matter of boat work and 
would like to see standard sail equipment adopted, not just 
merely “ sails.” He would also like to see each vessel of the 
merchant service fitted with at least two handy rowing and sailing 
boats in which the officers and men might practice sailing during 
their off duty hours in foreign ports. There is no finer sport, 
and no greater opportunity for attaining perfection in this art. 

Much is said in these pages about “ efficiency,” “ turn 
around,” etc. But the comfort and good will of the crew is an 

* The International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea was held in 
London, Nov. 12, 1913, to Jan. 20, 1914. Boat conditions were thoroughly 
discussed and the present regulations were drawn up. (See Rules of U. S. 
Steamboat-Inspection Service.) 


385 


386 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


important factor in any scheme of enlightened management. 
When this can be added to and safety increased through prac¬ 
tically no added expense, why not provide at least one real 
sailing boat? With one or two boats fit for sailing and rowing, 
the merchantman will approach the wisdom of the man-of-war 
where all work and no play has long been a thing of the past. 

Boats may be conveniently classified with regard to their 
construction as follows: 

Boats built of wood— Boats built of metal— 

Clinker built Pressed from a single sheet 

Carvel built Built of strakes, riveted 

Diagonal built Crimped 

Welded or soldered. 



Clinker-built. The planking is generally thin with the lower 
edge of the plank overlapping the upper edge of the plank next 
below, like the clapboards on a frame house. The edges are 
securely fastened together with copper rivets, plank to plank, 
and with longer rivets, planks to frames. It is a very light form 
of construction, flexible, and surprisingly strong. Small boats, 
































BOATS 


387 


wherries, dinghies, etc., are constructed on this principle. 
Many Class 1 lifeboats are so constructed, heavier planks being 
used for larger boats. The illustration shows the parts of the 
boat hull, corresponding in a general way to the structure of 
large wooden vessels. 

Clinker built life boats, resting in smooth chocks, are often 
fitted with outside filling pieces in the wake of chocks. These 
bring the outside surface of the boat smooth against the chocks 
and prevent damage to the edges of the planking. Filing pieces 
are about a foot long and are smoothed down fore and aft. 



Carvel-built . Here the planking lies flush, edge to edge and 
is made watertight by caulking. The planks are generally 
thicker, framing heavier, and boats of larger size. Whaleboats, 
cutters, and launches, are of this type of construction. 

Diagonal-built boats . In this form of construction two layers 
of planking are worked in from the keel to the gunwale, striking 
away from the keel at an angle of forty-five degrees, the inner 
layer generally running from the keel aft, and the outer layer 





























388 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


from the keel forward, the two layers crossing each other. A 
layer of waterproof fabric is laid between the planks. 


Rowlocks/ Wash St rake 


Slant to ns , 



Stretchers 


Keelson 


y Outside 
r y Planks 


Inside Planks 


Hog / 
Piece 


"Keel 

Section of a diagonal-built boat. 


Another form of construction places the inner skin of planking 
on the diagonal system and the outer skin fore and aft, carvel 
built. 

This is a very strong form of construction and is often em¬ 
ployed for the largest size of life boats carried by passenger 
vessels. 

Wood most used. Wooden boats are best constructed of oak 
framing and long leaf yellow pine planking , though a great 
variety of other woods are employed. Mahogany is used for 
some construction, is very durable and little effected by weather 
or wet. Teak is also an excellent wood for boat building, both 
teak and mahogany being employed as planking on rock elm 
or oak framing. 

Where vessels trade in tropical climates, the teak or mahogany 
built boat is an economy because of its greater life. 

Balsa wood is used for fenders and rafts. It is lighter than 
cork, and has many advantages for boat and raft construction. 























BOATS 


389 


Metal boats. These are generally life boats of the first class, 
large double ended deep bodied boats with high straight sides 
fitted with the required air chambers, and sometimes with high 
floors, over tanks, and self-bailing valves. 



Open steel lifeboat, curved keel, reinforced type, equipped with power. 


The metal boat is a necessity but not a thing to grow enthusi¬ 
astic over. Like the boats with collapsible sides, and the pon¬ 
toon rafts, it is something to cling to in time of disaster but a 
clumsy craft for sailing or rowing. The metal power life boat, 
however, is a very able boat. 


II 

The Parts of a Small Boat 

Apron. Fitted inside of and strengthening the stem and 
sternpost. 

Backboard. The piece of wood fitting across the stern sheets, 
literally a “ backboard.” 



Water breaker. Method of carrying. 






390 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Barricoes. Also called “ breakers.” The small casks resting 
on cradels on the bottom boards and fitting under the thwarts. 
Used for carrying fresh water. Should be inspected each 
passage and water changed. Also should be fitted with a good 
spigot to avoid spilling, or with a leather lip at the bung. 

Bilge. Flat part of bottom on either side of keel—extending 
to where frames turn upward, or “ the turn of the bilge.” 



Framing at after part of a wooden boat. 


Boomkin. Small boom projecting over the stern. Carries a 
lead block through which the mizzen sheet is rove. The boom- 
kin should rig in and out. 

Bottom boards. Loose boards fitted next the keelson. Cor¬ 
respond to limbers. Are held in place by wooden “ buttons.” 
Should be lifted in cleaning out boat. 

Bow. Fore part of a boat. 

Cleats. The usual wooden or metal fittings for belaying 
sheets, halyards, etc. 

Counter. The overhanging portion of the stern in a square or 
oval stern construction. 

Deadwood. The inside knees joining the stem and stern 
posts and the keel. 

Fenders. Bow and side fenders, made of leather and stuffed 
with oakum, or of cork or balsa wood, and used as added bouy- 
ancy. 


























BOATS 


391 


Floors. The inside planking running over the ribs. 

Frames. The transverse timbers of a boat. 

Garboard stroke. The stroke of plank on either side, next 
to the keel. 

Gripes. These fittings are not exactly part of the boat, being 
long strips of sword mat, or roped canvas fitted with eyes and 



tails and used for griping boats into the strongback when swung 
outboard at sea. Gripes are fitted with a slip toggle for quick 
releasing. Iron clamps, chain and turnbuckles, fitted with 
releasing hooks are used for boats resting in chocks. 

Gudgeons. The eyes on the stern post for the reception of the 
pintles on the rudder. Pintles and gudgeons form the hinge 
upon which the rudder swings. The lower pintle should be an 
inch longer than the upper one. In many boats the gudgeons 
are really on the rudder, being split rings, shipping over a bulb 
on the stern and swinging through suitable openings near the 
top and bottom of this bulb. This is easy to ship but not very 
reliable. 

Gunwale. The “ gunnell.” The top strake of a boat, gener¬ 
ally a square section, rounded on the outside with a rubbing 
streak, and fitting over the top ends of the framing. The built 
up or “ box ” gunwale is often used. 































392 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Head sheets. The small platform forward of the foremost 
thwart. 

Hood ends. The ends of planking where same enters rabbets 
and is nailed to stem and stern posts. 

Keel. The timber upon which the framing is erected. 

Keelson hoard. The board covering the framing ends where 
they join the keel. The mast steps are cut into or are bolted to 
this board. It also supports the thwart pillars. 

Knees. Fitted against the timbers over the thwarts. The 
knees should be carefully selected grown timbers as they add a 
great deal to the transverse strength of the boat. 

Lifting hooks. Stout hooks or shackles at bow and stern 
connected by rods with lifting plates under the keel. 

Mast step. The square hole in the keelson plank, or in a 
casting, into which the heel of a mast steps. 

Mast clamp. A half-round clamp for holding a mast against 
a thwart. 

Painter. The bow line, usually spliced into the stem ring bolt. 
It is a good practice to fit two painters, at least twenty fathoms 
in length. One of these to be coiled down clear in the fore 
sheets, the other, or sea painter to be carried along the deck, 
forward for a distance of at least four times the freeboard and 
made fast. If boats are lowered when the vessel has headway, 
the sea painter will help keep the boat under control. Sea 
painters should always be carried out on the emergency life 
boats. 

Pintles. Described under “ gudgeons.” 

Plug. This fitting, used to plug the drainhole next the keel, 
should be fitted with a lanyard of brass jack chain. A spare plug 
should be carried. Plug is always removed when a boat is 
hoisted, and inserted before lowering. In metal boats auto¬ 
matic check valves are used. 

Poppets. The filling pieces used in cutters where box row- 
locks are cut into the gunwale. 

Rabbet. The groove in the stem and sternposts into which 
the hood ends fit. 

Releasing gear. The special arrangements of hooks, cams, 
toggles, etc., by which a boat is released from her falls when 
waterbourn or near the water. 

Rising. The narrow stringers on either side upon which the 
thwarts rest, also called Wales. 

Rowlocks. The forked metal pieces in which the oars work 
while pulling. These are fitted to sockets in the gunwale and 
the ends should be fitted with chain or rope lanyards. Sunken 
rowlocks are those where boxes are cut into the gunwale, the 
forward side concave to prevent the lifting of the oars. 

Rudder. The steering board hinged on the sternpost by 
pintles and gudgeons. 


BOATS 


393 


Sheer. The sweeping curve of the gunwale when compared 
with the straight waterline; low amidship, high at bow and 
stern. 

Sheer stroke. The upper strake just under the gunwale. 

Slings. Chain and wire spans passing through ring bolts at 
top of stem and sternpost and down to link or lifting plates on the 
keel. Steadying lines run from the center of the slings to each 
side at the gunwale. A rig used in hoisting.with a single davit. 

Stem. The foremost timber in the framing of a boat. 

Steering rowlock. A large swivel rowlock, mounted on a 
crutch with horizontal pivots, while crutch ships in a socket on 
the gunwale near the sternpost. Made to take a long steering 
oar, which should be fitted with a trailing line to prevent loss 
of oar if let go. 

Sternfast. An after painter. 

Stern post. The aftermost upright timber in the framing. 

Stern sheets. That part of boat abaft the aftermost thwart. 

Strokes. The continuous fore and aft lines of planking or 
plating. 

Stretchers. Pieces of wood running athwart ship and fitting 
into chocks in the floor. The rowers brace their feet against 
the stretchers when pulling. 

Tabernacle. A wooden or metal frame running from the 
thwart to the mast step for guiding the heel of mast when 
stepping in a seaway. 

Thwarts. The cross seats on which the oarsmen sit. When 
one oarsman sits on a thwart, as in a whaler, the boat is said 
to be single banked. Where the rowlocks are abreast of each 
other, and two men sit on the same thwart the boat is said to be 
double banked. 

Tiller. This is the lever by which the rudder is moved from 
side to side. It is the fundamental steering device, the helm , 
about which so much is said at sea. In learning the handling 
of large ships by first mastering the secrets of small boats, the 
use and meaning of the helm or tiller is driven home. Therefore 
Starboard actually means something, for the man receiving and 
the man giving the order see } in their mind’s eye, that the tiller 
goes to starboard. 

This reversal of names (an apparent thing) comes down from 
the time when the master shipman, knowing that he wanted the 
vessel’s head to go to port , called out starboard to the man at 
the helm or tiller, and said thickheaded mariner jambed the 
tiller to starboard, as he was told. 

The small boat is a great thing for getting the fundamentals 
of the sea. 

Trailing lines. Small lines secured around the rising and to 
the loom of the oar by an eye splice forming a slip noose. When 


394 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


oars are allowed to “ trail ” the lines keep them from running 
overboard. 

Transom. The board fitted to the after side of the sternpost in 
a “ square-sterned ” boat. 

Wales. The light stringers upon which the thwarts rest, also 
called the rising. 

Wash boards. Canvas or boards fitted on top of rails to 
increase the freeboard. 

Yoke. The thwartship piece of wood or metal fitting over the 
rudder head to which the yoke lines are attached. 

Ill 

Classes of Boats 

The International Conference on Safety At Sea * divided 
standard lifeboats in two classes—those with rigid sides, called 
Class I boats, and those with partly collapsible sides, called 
Class II boats. Both classes were subdivided into three sec¬ 
tions, and these rules have been made part of the regulations 
for safety at sea embodied in the famous Seamen’s Act of 1915. 

As these regulations are a part of the navigation law, and are 
the basic rules for all American lifeboat equipment, they have 
been included in the General Rules and Regulations regard¬ 
ing boats made by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, U. S. 
Steamboat-Inspection Service. These laws and rules, made 
according to law, should be studied carefully by the seaman 
who must master the management and care of his boats. The 
U. S. Steamboat-Inspection Service supplies the U. S. Rules 
free of charge. 

Motor Boats 

When motor boats are accepted, the volume of internal buoy¬ 
ancy and, when fitted, the external buoyancy, must be fixed, 
having regard to the difference between the weight of the motor 
and its accessories and the weight of the additional persons which 
the boat could accommodate if the motor and its accessories 
were removed. 

All ocean steam vessels of more than 2,500 gross tons carrying 
passengers, whose route at any point lies more than 200 miles 
offshore, shall carry at least one motor-propelled lifeboat as a 
part of their required lifeboat equipment: Provided , That any 
vessel under the jurisdiction of the Steamboat-Inspection 
Service may carry one motor-propelled lifeboat as a part of the 

* See footnote, page 385. 




BOATS 


395 


required lifeboat equipment, but on vessels carrying more than 
six lifeboats under davits, two of such lifeboats may be motor- 
propelled. 

The engine for such motor-propelled lifeboats shall be of a 
reliable internal-combustion type, and shall be substantially 
and permanently installed inside the boat. It shall be of suf¬ 
ficient power to propel the boat when loaded to its full capacity 
at a speed of at least 5 miles per hour in smooth water without 
favorable current, and shall have an endurance of at least 24 
hours under the above conditions. 



Lundin housed power lifeboat towing Lundin decked lifeboat 
and open lifeboat . Radio equipment on power boat. 


The motor shall be protected by a water-tight inclosure, the 
top of which shall be fitted so that it may be removed when 
necessary, and there shall be fitted in the top a mushroom venti¬ 
lator. 

The motor of each lifeboat shall be operated under service 
conditions for a period of not less than five minutes once at least 
in every seven days in order that it may be ready for service 
at any time. Such operation shall be a part of the lifeboat drill, 
and the fact of such operation shall be made a part of the report 
of such drill. 

All fittings, pipes, and connections shall be of the highest 
standard and best workmanship and in accordance with the 
best modern practice. 




396 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The fuel for such motors shall be contained in substantial 
tanks of seamless steel, welded steel, or copper, securely and 
firmly fitted in the lifeboat and located where the greatest safety 
will be secured, and the storage of fuel other than in the lifeboat 
using it is prohibited. 

In computing the cubical capacity of motor-propelled lifeboats 
the space required for the motor and fuel shall be excluded, and 
in fixing the air-tank requirements the weight of the motor and 
its accessories shall be carefully considered in the calculation 
and allowance made for the extra bouyancy required for such 
weights. 

Capacity of Boats and Pontoon Rafts 

First. The number of persons which a boat of one of the 
standard types or a pontoon raft can accommodate is equal to 
the greatest whole number obtained by dividing the capacity in 
cubic feet, or the surface in square feet, of the boat or of the 
raft by the standard unit of capacity, or unit of surface (according 
to circumstances), defined below for each type. 

Second. The cubic capacity in feet of a boat in which the 
number of persons is determined by the surface shall be assumed 
to be ten times the number of persons which it JQ cu ^ er 
is authorized to carry. person 

Third. The standard units of capacity and 
surface are as follows: 

Units of capacity, open boats, type 1A, ten cubic feet; open 
boats, type IB, nine cubic feet. 

Unit of surface, open boats, type 2A, three and one-half square 
feet; pontoon boats, type 2 C, three and one-half 31 , , ( Qnd 

square feet; pontoon boats, type 1C, three and * * . ' 

one-fourth square feet; pontoon boats, type 2B, * 5on ’ 
three and one-fourth square feet. p 

Fourth. The board of Supervising Inspectors, with the 
approval of the Secretary of Commerce, may accept, in place of 
three and one-fourth, a smaller divisor, if it is satisfied after 
trial that the number of persons for whom there is seating accom¬ 
modation in the pontoon boat in question is greater than the num¬ 
ber obtained by applying the above divisor, provided always 
that the divisor adopted in place of three and one-fourth may 
never be less than three. 

Equivalents for and Weight of the Persons 

In test for determining the number of persons which a boat 
or pontoon raft can accommodate each person shall be assumed 
to be an adult person wearing a life jacket. 

In verifications of freeboard the pontoon boats shall be loaded 


BOATS 


397 


with a weight of at least one hundred and sixty-five pounds for 
each adult person that the pontoon boat is authorized to carry. 

In all cases two children under twelve years of age shall be 
reckoned as one person. 

Cubic Capacity of Open Boats of the First Class 

First. The cubic capacity of an open boat of type 1A or IB 
shall be determined by Stirling’s (Simpson’s) rule or by any 
other method, approved by the Board of Super- . 
vising Inspectors, giving the same degree of * ing f [ Rule 
accuracy. The capacity of a square-sterned boat 6 lTn r son s \ 
shall be calculated as if the boat had a pointed stern. 

Second. For example, the capacity in cubic feet of a boat, 
calculated by the aid of Stirling’s rule, may be considered as 
given by the following formula: 

Capacity = ^ (4A + 2B + 4C) 

1 being the lenght of the boat in feet from the inside of 
the planking or plating at the stem to the corresponding point 
at the stern post; in the case of a boat with a square stern, the 
length is measured to the inside of the transom. 

A, B, C denote, respectively, the areas of the cross sections at 
the quarter length forward, amidships, and the quarter length 
aft, which correspond to the three points obtained by dividing 1 in¬ 
to four equal parts. (The areas corresponding to the two ends 
of the boat are considered negligible.) 

The areas A, B, C shall be deemed to be given in square feet 
by the successive application of the following formula to each 
of the three cross sections: 

l. 

Afea = 12 (a + 4b + 2C + 4d + e) * 

h being the depth measured in feet inside the planking or 
plating from the keel to the level of the gunwale, or, in certain 
cases, to a lower level, as determined hereafter. 

a, b, c, d, e denote the horizontal breadths of the boat measured 
in feet at the upper and lower points of the depth and at the 
three points obtained by dividing h into four equal parts (a and e 
being the breadths at the extreme points, and c at the middle 
point, of h). 

Third. If the sheer of the gunwale, measured at the two 
points situated at a quarter of the length of the boat from the 
ends, exceeds one per centum of the length of the boat, the 
depth employed in calculating the area of the cross sections 


398 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A or C shall be deemed to be the depth amidships plus one per 
centum of the length of the boat. 

Fourth. If the depth of the boat amidships exceeds forty-five 
per centum of the breadth, the depth employed in calculating the 



Steel lifeboats nested under Steward davits. Covered box for boat fall. 
Davit swung out by means of screw. 

area of the midship cross section B shall be deemed to be equal 
to forty-five per centum of the breadth; and the depth employed 
in calculating the areas of the quarter-length sections A and C is 
obtained by increasing this last figure by an amount equal to one 






BOATS 


399 


per centum of the length of the boat, provided that in no case 
shall the depths employed in the calculation exceed the actual 
depths at these points. 

Fifth. If the depth of the boat is greater than four feet, the 
number of persons given by the application of this rule shall be 
reduced in proportion to the ratio of four feet to the actual depth, 
until the boat has been satisfactorily tested afloat with that 
number of persons on board all wearing life jackets. 

Sixth. The Board of Supervising Inspectors shall impose, by 
suitable formulae, a limit for the number of persons allowed in 
boats with very fine ends and in boats very full in form. 

Seventh. The Board of Supervising Inspectors may by regu¬ 
lation assign to a boat a capacity equal to the product of the length, 
the breadth, and the depth multiplied by six-tenths if it is evident 
that this formula does not give a greater capacity than that ob¬ 
tained by the above method. The dimensions shall then be 
measured in the following manner: 

Length. From the intersection of the outside of the planking 
with the stem to the corresponding point at the sternpost or, in 
the case of a square-sterned boat, to the afterside of the transom. 

Breadth. From the outside of the planking at the point where 
the breadth of the boat is greatest. 

Depth. Amidships inside the planking from the keel to the 
level of the gunwale, but the depth used in calculating the cubic 
capacity may not in any case exceed forty-five per centum of the 
breadth. 

In all cases the vessel owner has the right to require that the 
cubic capacity of the boat shall be determined by exact measure¬ 
ment. 

Eighth. The cubic capacity of a motor boat is obtained from 
the gross capacity by deducting a volume equal to that occupied 
by the motor and its accessories. 

Deck Area of Pontoon Boats and Open Boats of the Second Class 

First. The area of the deck of a pontoon boat of type 1C, 
2B, or 2C shall be determined by the method indicated below 
or by any other method giving the same degree of accuracy. 
The same rule is to be applied in determining the area within 
the fixed bulwarks of a boat of type 2A. 

Second. For example, the surface in square feet of a boat 
may be deemed to be given by the following formula: 

Area = (2a + 1.5b + 4c + l*5d + 2e), 

1 being the length in feet from the intersection of the outside of 
the planking with the stem to the correspondmg point at the 
sternpost. 

15 


400 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


a, b, c, d, e denote the horizontal breadths in feet outside the 
planking at the points obtained by dividing 1 into four equal parts 
and subdividing the foremost and aftermost parts into two equal 
parts (a and e being the breadths at the extreme subdivisions, 
c at the middle point of the length, and b and d at the inter¬ 
mediate points). 

Marking of Boats and Pontoon Rafts 

The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons which 
it is authorized to carry shall be marked on it in clear, perma¬ 
nent characters, according to regulations by the Board of Super¬ 
vising Inspectors, approved by the Secretary of Commerce. 
These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers 
appointed to inspect the ship. 

Pontoon rafts shall be marked with the number of persons in 
the same manner. 

IV 

Equipment for Lifeboats 

Note: The lifeboat and raft equipment is that given by the 
U. S. Inspectors. It is more ample than that given in the 
Seamen's Act. 

All lifeboats on ocean steam vessels shall be equipped as 
follows: 

A properly secured life line the entire length on each side 
festooned in bights not longer than 3 feet, with a seine float 
in each bight. 

One painter of manila rope of not less than 2% inches in 
circumference and of suitable length. 

A full complement of oars and two spare oars. 

One set and a half of thole pins or rowlocks attached to the 
boat with separate chains. 

One steering oar with rowlock or becket and one rudder with 
tiller or yoke and yoke lines. 

One boat hook attached to a staff of suitable length. 

Two life preservers. 

Two hatchets. 

One galvanized-iron bucket with lanyard attached. 

One bailer. 

Where automatic plugs are not provided there shall be two 
plugs secured with chains for each drain hole. 

One efficient liquid compass with not less than a 2-inch card. 

One lantern containing sufficient oil to burn at least nine hours 
and ready for immediate use. 

One can containing 1 gallon of illuminating oil. 

One box of friction matches wrapped in a waterproof package 
and carried in a box secured to the underside of the stern 
thwart. 


BOATS 


401 


A wooden breaker or suitable tank fitted with a siphon, pump, 
or spigot for drawing water, and containing at least 1 quart of 
water for each person. 

Two enameled drinking cups. 

A water-tight receptacle containing 2 pounds avoirdupois of 
provisions for each person. These provisions may be hard 
bread or United States Army ration. The receptacle shall be 
of metal, fitted with an opening in the top not less than 5 inches 
in diameter, properly protected by a screw cap made of heavy 
cast brass, with machine thread and an attached double toggle, 
seating to a pliable rubber gasket, which shall insure a tight 
joint, in order to properly protect the contents of the can. 

Food or Provisions to be Carried in Lifeboats 

Food which produces unusual or immoderate thirst, such as 
corned beef, salt fish, etc., will not be allowed, under any cir¬ 
cumstances, as lifeboat provisions. 

When hard bread only is carried in the lifeboat, there must be 
provided in addition thereto at least 10 United States Army 
emergency rations. 

The United States Army emergency ration referred to above 
shall be prepared in accordance with the following formula: 
45.45 per cent, chocolate liquor, 7.27 per cent, nucleo-casein, 
7.27 per cent, malted milk, 14.55 per cent, egg albumen, 21.82 
per cent, powdered cane sugar, and 3.64 per cent, cocoa butter. 
Percentage of moisture shall not exceed 3 per cent. 

One canvas bag containing sailmaker’s palm and needles, sail 
twine, marline, and marline spike. 

A water-tight metal case containing 12 self-igniting red lights 
capable of burning at least two minutes. 

A sea anchor. 

A vessel containing 1 gallon of vegetable or animal oil, so con¬ 
structed that the oil can be easily distributed on the water and so 
arranged that it can be attached to the sea anchor. 

A mast or masts with one good sail at least and proper gear for 
each (this does not apply to motor lifeboats), the sail and gear to 
be protected by a suitable canvas cover. In case of a steam 
vessel which carries passengers in the North Atlantic and is 
provided with a radiotelegraph installation, all the lifeboats need 
not be equipped with masts and sails. In this case at least one 
of the boats on each side shall be so equipped. 

All loose equipment must be securely attached to the boat to 
which it belongs. 

Lifeboats of less than 180 cubic feet capacity on pleasure 
steamers are not required to be equipped as above. 


402 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Additional Equipment of Lifeboats 

In addition to the equipment already required in lifeboats, 
there shall be provided a hand pump with a plunger of not less 
than 2 inches in diameter, and a discharge pipe of sufficient 
length to reach clear of the boat’s side. 

Equipment for Life Rafts 

All life rafts on ocean steam vessels shall be equipped as 
follows: 

A properly secured life line entirely around the sides and ends 
of the raft, festooned to the gunwales in bights not longer than 
3 feet with a seine float in each bight. 

One painter of manila rope of 2% inches in circumference, 
and of suitable length. 

Four oars. 

Five rowlocks properly attached. 

One boat hook attached to a staff of suitable length. 

One self-igniting life-buoy light. 

One sea anchor. 

A vessel containing 1 gallon of vegetable or animal oil, so con¬ 
structed that the oil can be easily distributed on the water, and 
so arranged that it can be attached to the sea anchor. 

A water-tight receptacle containing 2 pounds avoirdupois of 
provisions for each person. These provisions may be hard 
bread or United States Army ration. The receptacle shall be 
of metal and fitted with an opening in the top not less than 
5 inches in diameter, properly protected by a screw cap made of 
heavy cast brass, with machine thread and an attached double 
toggle, seating to a pliable rubber gasket, which shall insure a 
tight joint, in order to properly protect the contents of the can. 

A water-tight receptacle containing 1 quart of water for each 
person. 

Two enameled drinking cups. 

A water-tight metal case containing six self-igniting red lights 
capable of burning at least two minutes. 

A water-tight box of matches. 

All loose equipment must be securely attached to the raft to 
which it belongs. 

Stowage of Boats—Number of Davits 

The minimum number of sets of davits is fixed in relation to 
the length of the vessel; provided that a number of sets of 
davits greater than the number of boats necessary for the 
accommodation of all the persons on board may not be required. 


BOATS 


403 


Handling of the Boats and Rafts 

All the boats and rafts must be stowed in such a way that they 
can be launched in the shortest possible time and that, even 
under unfavorable conditions of list and trim from the point of 
view of the handling of the boats and rafts, it may be possible 
to embark in them as large a number of persons as possible. 

The arrangements must be such that it may be possible to 
launch on either side of the vessel as large a number of boats 
and rafts as possible. 

Strength and Operation of the Davits 

The davits shall be of such strength that the boats can be 
lowered with their full complement of persons and equipment, 
the vessel being assumed to have a list of fifteen degrees. 

The davits must be fitted with a gear of sufficient power to in¬ 
sure that the boat can be turned out against the maximum list 
under which the lowering of the boats is possible on the vessel 
in question. 

The Schat davits, a Dutch invention, have their base tilted at 
an angle of twenty degrees. The heel of the davit is held by a 
friction brake made tight by the weight of the boat. The upper 
half of the davit is inclined. When the brake is released by a 
lever the boat swings outboard by its own weight. The boat 
will swing outboard against a fifteen degree list. With a twenty 
degree list the action is similar to the old fashioned davit on an 
even keel. This gear is finding favor abroad. For rapid and 
easy swinging out it is hard to beat. 

Many rules have been made by the U. S. Board of Supervising 
Inspectors, Steamboat-Inspection service, and these require¬ 
ments, as stated before, are always available at the offices of 
the U. S. Local Inspectors. 

The main requirements of interest to the seaman, under the 
heading of ship’s boats, are as follows: 

Lifeboats and rafts shall be stripped, cleaned, thoroughly 
overhauled and painted at least once in every year. 

Lifeboats and rafts shall at all times be kept clear for launching. 

The complete required equipment must be in the boats at all 
times, and nothing else. 

Boat davit falls shall at all times be ready for use, they shall 
be protected from ice, shall never be painted. 

All boat davit falls on boat not swung out during boat drills , 
shall be cast loose and overhauled. 

Note: Boat drills should make use of all boats in rotation, 




404 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



A life boat drill. Steward davits. Boats carried outboard against strongbacks. 



















BOATS 


405 


swinging out a certain number on each side at each drill, entering 
this data in the log for future reference. Give numbers of boats 
swung out at each drill. 

All boats must be marked with a number, plainly painted on 
each bow in figures not less than three inches high. No. 1 
forward on Starboard side, No. 2, forward on Port side, and so 
on aft. Odd numbers to Starboard; even numbers to Port. 

All lifeboats must have their cubic contents and number of 
persons such boat is allowed to carry plainly painted on each 
bow in letters no less than three fourths of an inch high. This 
same information must also be plainly marked or painted on top 
of at least two of the thwarts in letters and figures not less than 
three inches high. 

When these required letters and figures are painted on life¬ 
boats they shall be dark on a light ground, or light on a dark 
ground. 

Life rafts shall have a plate affixed by the builder containing 
his name, number of raft, date of construction, cubical contents, 
number of persons allowed by U. S. rules. 

Each boat shall be of sufficient strength to permit it to be 
safely lowered into the water with its full complement of persons 
and equipment. 

Certificated Lifeboat Men must be carried as required by law. 
(See Men on Deck or U. S. Navigation Laws.) 

V 

Special Types of Boats 

Many special types of life boats have been developed and 
much thought is being given to improvements along this line. 
Devices to be acceptable on board U. S. Merchant vessels must 
first be “ approved ” by the Board of Supervising Inspectors who 
have formulated certain tests for the various kinds of boats and 
equipment. These “ approved ” boats and apparatus are listed 
in the publications of the Steamboat-Inspection Service and the 
fact of such approval should be clearly known before taking on 
board new devices. 

The Lundin decked lifeboats . The Lundin boat has received 
similar approval being rated as a Class 1A boat. The section of 
the revised statutes dealing with this boat is given below: 



406 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Lundin decked lifeboats shall be accepted as equivalent to 
Class 1A lifeboats and shall be rated and accepted as lifeboats 
under davits, and may be placed in nests of two under a single 



Lundin Decked Lifeboats. 

A—Reinforced steel hull construction, steel keel plates. 

B — Fenders, of Encysted Balsa covered with sheet steel. 

C—Bulkheads dividing watertight compartments. 

D—Manholes with watertight covers. 

E — Self-Bailing Deck. 

F—Scuppers with self-closing valves. 

G—Folding weatherboards. 

H—Wooden guards, chocking support for upper boat. 

J—Removable gratings. 

K—Mills releasing gear. 

L—Handle and chain for releasing both Mills gears simultaneously. 

M—Mast hasp. 

N—Water tanks, with faucet. 

P—Life line and floats. 

pair of davits. They shall be fully equipped as lifeboats as 
required by these rules and regulations, and shall be measured 
in accordance with the following formula: 

Cubic capacity = L X B X D X 0.9 cubic feet 
Where L = length over all, in feet. 

B = width over fenders, in feet. 

D = depth from top of keel to top of gunwale, in feet. 

Example 

28 feet X 9.3 feet X 2.6 feet X 0.9 = 607.6 cubic feet. 

Allow 10 cubic feet to a person, 607.6 -5- 10 = 60 persons. 





BOATS 


407 


VI 

Letter from Capt. A. P. Lundin 

In response to a letter from the author, Captain A. P. Lundin, 
Chairman of the Board of the American Balsa Company, and 
inventor of the lifeboat that bears his name, very kindly has set 
down the result of his years of experience and study of the life¬ 
boat problem. As vessels have reached a tremendous size, 
carrying thousands of persons, the problem of adequate lifeboat 
equipment and management calls for the most careful con¬ 
sideration. On a man-of-war, the whole crew are a well-drilled 
unit, while on a large passenger liner with ninety per cent, of the 
human beings on board unskilled, many very young, or old and 
feeble, and with women comprising a large proportion, the 
seamanship of boat handling that devolves upon the merchant 
sailor is of the most exacting kind. 

It is “ women and children first, and passengers before the 
crew ” in time of disaster. The proud record of merchant 
seamen the world over attests the universal adherence to this 
rule of the sea. Captain Lundin’s notes follow and will bear 
careful reading. 

Although a great many improvements and new requirements have been 
made as regards lifeboats during the last four years or so, a glance at the 
average liner going in and out of any large harbor will suffice to convince 
one that from the viewpoint of highest efficiency and safety, there is still 
much to be desired. 

The writer, whose business gives him ample opportunity to look over 
the various steamships, has often been impressed with the fact that the 
present method of stacking extra boats, such as flimsy wooden collapsibles 
with canvas sides, etc., in heaps on the deck, without systematic plan for 
getting them out, will make conditions worse, if anything, in case the 
ship sinks. 

I firmly believe that efficiency in lifeboats on board ship, particularly in 
time of need, can only be obtained by an unremitting earnest study of the 
subject and by careful tests at sea, under conditions as nearly as possible 
like those prevailing when a disaster actually occurs. 

For a number of years our company has carried on systematic experi¬ 
mental work, and briefly speaking, we consider that the whole problem 
resolves itself into these issues: Lifeboats , Chocking and Stowing , Davits , 
Drills , Rafts. 


408 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


It is generally conceded that design, construction and tests of the ordi¬ 
nary open lifeboat presuppose favorable conditions, z.e., smooth water and a 
normal or regulated load of persons carried; in other words, the ordinary 



Boat Deck of S. S. “ Olympic ”—Welin Quadrant Davits. 

open lifeboat has a certain buoyancy based on the principle that the boat 
will float, loaded to its full capacity and partly filled with water. For this 
reason an open lifeboat built of wood is required to have an air-tank capacity 
of 1 cu. ft. per person and when tests are made under normal conditions, 
viz. in smooth water, like in harbors, this works very well. 











BOATS 


409 


A metallic lifeboat is figured on the same basis, only with the difference 
that, being constructed of a material heavier than water and therefore sink- 
able of its own weight, the latter is required to have an air-tank capacity of 
iy 2 cu. ft. per person. Experiments and tests have shown that the stability 
and buoyancy factors are about equal in both types of boats. The trouble 
with both metallic and wooden boats of the standard type is that in most 
cases of disaster at sea, conditions are not the same as when such equip¬ 
ment was tested out. To begin with, even a moderately running sea 
becomes quite a swell when we are in a small boat, and in severe weather 
this is very much intensified. Most experienced sailors know that small 
boats, if well handled and only moderately loaded, are quite safe, even 
in a rough sea. The great trouble, however, lies in the fact that in most 
disasters at sea very little attention is paid to the rated capacity of each 
specific lifeboat; in other words nobody has time to ask whether a boat is 
rated for 30, 40 or 50 people. What actually takes place is this: Relatively 
few lifeboats are successfully launched and as many people as can possibly 
crowd in, pile into these, regardless of the rated capacity. Therefore, the 
comparatively small margin of safety in regard to the load for such open 
lifeboats, make them an unreliable proposition. Besides, even if the life¬ 
boats successfully launched carry only the rated number of persons, many 
floating in the water will have to be picked up or will hang on to the sides 
and try to climb aboard, even at the risk of capsizing the whole boat load. 

Then, when we consider a combination of abnormal load and a rough 
sea, it is easy to understand why so many lifeboats capsize, and the un¬ 
fortunate part is that when such a boat is overturned, only the expert 
swimmers or those who have life preservers on, have any chance for their 
lives. In such cases the most able men or women try to crawl on top of the 
capsized boat and in so doing frequently right it again, but it is now half 
full of water and thereby the stability is still further greatly reduced so that 
it easily capsizes a second time and a third time, even with less than half 
the load with which it originally started. 

Realizing all these conditions, we made a radical change in our designs 
which resulted in the Lundin Life Boats of three or four different types. 
In comparing these types with ordinary boats, we might say that by keeping 
the beam at the safe standard of about l /$ the length, we have a greater 
margin for stability, and our double bottom with its 3 to 4 cu. ft. of tank 
capacity per person, means a great deal more buoyancy than iy 2 cu. ft. 
tank capacity per person in ordinary open boats; moreover we have the 
added buoyancy and stability afforded by the fenders. 

It is easy to see that our design increases the factor of safety tremen¬ 
dously. It has been our aim to construct a life boat which will not only take 
care of its rated capacity but all the additional persons that may possibly 
crowd in. Actual tests have shown that with, such an excess load, the 
Lundin decked lifeboat is a much safer proposition that the ordinary stand¬ 
ard lifeboat with its normal load. 

Of course there are a great many technical details covering this subject 
which might be discussed but I will merely keep to general principles. 


410 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


It may safely be stated that it will take a tremendous amount of effort 
and weight to overturn a Lundin decked lifeboat. When a ship is sinking, 
it may happen that such a boat is overturned by hitting a smokestack, mast 
or spar of the ship, but if boats of the Lundin open type are overturned, 
they will remain so; at least, it will take just as much effort to right them 
as to capsize them. This is an advantage because the flat bottom will act 
as a raft, or refuge, for those who have been spilled out, and as many as the 
boat will hold, bottom up, can climb on without risking another spill. 

Considering the lifeboat question as a whole, we know that a demon¬ 
stration at sea, under actual conditions, will prove that a ship equipped 
with Lundin lifeboats for only half the number of people carried on board, 
would be far better off than one equipped according to the present method— 
i.e. t “ boats for all,” using all kinds of open and folding boats, placed all 
over the ship. 

Chocking 

Many ocean liners are so equipped and their boats so stowed that the 
possibility of being able to launch more than the outside and the upper of 
nested boats, is very remote. The lower boats and the inside ones are 
generally so chocked and griped down that it is not a matter of minutes but 
of hours before such boats could be released. In most cases boats so placed 
and chocked go down with the ship. One reason for this is that the lower 
outer boats in most cases are so-called pontoon boats, built of very light, 
flimsy material and not sufficiently strong to carry the open boats, without 
extra heavy chocks made up with the help of beams, stanchions, bolts, etc. 

We have given particular attention to the chocking arrangement of what 
we call the Lundin system, which is based on the principle that not only 
the first boat shall be launched with as little effort and delay as possible, 
but also that the lower boat or boats will be readily accessible and can be 
swung out and lowered in the same manner; if the time should not be 
sufficient to launch the second boat, it will still be possible to make use of 
it by quickly releasing the gripes so that it will float off when the decks 
are awash. 

This question of chock and gripe release arrangement in the Lundin 
system is a matter which you would fully appreciate if, when taking this 
subject under consideration you would first go on board some of the trans¬ 
atlantic liners and look at the way boats are fastened down, and then com¬ 
pare these methods with our chocking and releasing system. 

Davits 

The davit proposition has been considered a problem by itself, but this 
should not be so because it is simply a part of the lifeboat system and in 
order to make the lifeboat equipment really useful in time of need, the best 
possible davit equipment is imperative. I shall not here discuss the relative 
merits of davits. 

What I wish to consider particularly is the arrangement of davits on 
board ship. 


BOATS 


411 


If you will go into this question, I am sure you will agree that it is pre¬ 
ferable to have as many single-acting davits, instead of double-acting, as 
can be placed alongside the deck, and where necessary the boats nested 
two high, because in time of disaster it has been found that the boats most 
likely to be useful, are those placed farthest outboard. Therefore, I 
believe the principal advantage of what is called double frames is that by 
using such frames, sufficient longitudinal deck space is saved for one or 
more additional boats that can be placed outboard, rather than inboard of 



Welin Quadrant Davit and Nested Lundin Lifeboats. 

The operation of this Lundin Lifeboat system is as follows (davit and 
chocking arrangement duplicated at other end of boats): 

Release pelican hooks (A) and pull down levers (B) which through a 
connecting link tilt chocks (C) and the lower boat. This permits, swinging 
out of upper lifeboat without hoisting. Davits are operated by turning 
crank handles (D) actuating travelling nuts ( E ) connected to davit arms. 
The travel of the arm on the quadrant ( F) results in a moving pivotal point 
which gives a much greater outreach than would be possible for the same 
length of arm with a stationary pivotal point. The full weight of arm and 
supported boat is transferred to the deck through a flange ( G) on the quad¬ 
rant rolling in a slot in the base of the frame. The teeth of the quadrant 
prevent it from slipping. The falls run from lowering bollards over sheaves 
through non-toppling blocks (7). In the arrangement of double com¬ 
pensation the standing part of the falls is fastened to eyes (K); under 
single compensation, the standing part is fastened to the lower block. 












412 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



other boats. It has been argued that by using double frames, there will 
be a certain lapse of time between launching of the boats, viz. where there 
are 8 units of lifeboats on each side with 6 double frames, it would not be 
possible to swing out more than 4 boats simultaneously; still I believe 
that practical tests will show it would be by far safer to sacrifice a few 
seconds and swing out only 4 boats at a time, than swing out and launch 

all the boats at once, particularly if 
there is any sea running and the 
ship rolling or pitching more or 
less. 

I think every effort should be 
made to maintain single units of 
life-boats with boats one or two 
high, z'.e., single banked. In double 
banking there are always difficul¬ 
ties to overcome when it comes to 
launching the boats, and we still 
know of no better and more effi¬ 
cient arrangement to meet those 
difficulties than the double-acting 
Welin davits, although even this 
installation take considerable time 
before all the boats can be launched. 
More than one inner boat should 
never be allowed in double bank¬ 
ing, the reason therefore being that 
in case of a ship sinking so quickly 
that as a rule not more than one 
lifeboat under each pair of davits 
can be launched, the rem aining 
boats when only one high, can still 
be of service when released as the 
decks get awash. Of course, it is 
still worse when the boats are 
double banked with no mechanical 
equipment to launch the inside 
boats; this is sometimes the case 
on board passenger liners. This 
ought to receive very serious con¬ 
sideration, particularly if a disas¬ 
trous fire should occur on hoard 


Hoisting and Lowering Control on 
S. S. “ Olympic .” 

Each control unit serves two sets 
of Welin Quadrant Davits. Falls A 
and B lead to the two davits of the 
right hand set over sheaves at the 
base of davit frame. The boat is kept 
on an even keel by means of one equal¬ 
izer, C, for each set of davits. The 
davits are swung outboard through 
crank handles operating the screws 
direct or through gears D. 

such a ship. 

I would state that there are a good many details about lifeboat equip¬ 
ment which might be considered of small importance, still—when it comes 
to a matter of life and death, and not only minutes but seconds count, very 
often the least friction or halt means much. I therefore urge ship masters 








BOATS 


413 


and steamship owners to take this matter as seriously as it deserves and 
give due consideration to each and every detail. Such details as boat 
covers, releasing gear, gripes, boat falls, lowering bollards, and reels or 
tubs for the boat falls, etc., should be properly taken care of when the 
equipment is being installed, it can be done at practically no extra cost. 
A practical sea-faring man should be given supervision. I am sorry to 
state that there seems to be a disinclination to give these details sufficient 
attention. 

Boat Drills 

We must bear in mind that there is one important question in regard to 
lifeboat equipment which cannot be taken too seriously—and that is the 
boat drill, so that the men may familiarize themselves with the necessary 



Three types of life boats: 

A—Open steel life boat, standard type. 

B—Broady class 2-A life boat—nested under standard boat. 

C—Two Lundin decked life boats nested. 

D—Welin quadrant davits with non-toppling blocks. 

operations and in this connection I wish to point out that a great deal would 
certainly be gained if the various steamship lines would endeavor to stand¬ 
ardize their equipment as much as possible, instead of fitting out each 
independent ship with different apparatus and different types of boats, etc. 
By standardizing such equipment it would obviate a great deal of unneces¬ 
sary training of the individual men on each ship, particularly as the average 
sailor is more or less restless and often goes from one ship to another. 




414 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Another important question of the boat drill is to provide apparatus and 
equipment that will make the drill as easy as possible, there by encouraging 
the men rather than discouraging their actual efforts. For that reason 
provision should be made to hoist the boats after each drill by motor power 
instead of by hand. The best and most sensible way to do this would be 
to have one or two small electric winches on each side of the boat deck with 
ring bolts for snatch blocks to lead the falls to such winches. I do not 
favor independent controls for each pair of davits unless such controls are 
of the most perfect and up-to-date design which, as a rule, costs a great 
deal of money and also involves much expense in upkeep. Besides, when¬ 
ever independent controls are used it is necessary to use wire instead of 
rope, and I am too old fashioned to look without a certain amount of suspi¬ 
cion on wire rope when used in connection with lifeboat work. It is all 
very true that wire is used very successfully not only in the operation of 
elevators and cranes, but also on board ship in handling cargo, but that is 
quite a different thing, for in such cases the wires are more or less protected 
or else stored away when the ship is at sea. Wire rope for boat falls is 
expected to stand a great deal longer than hemp or manila rope. It is also 
harder to see what takes place inside such wire falls when subjected to 
such severe conditions as on the high seas. Besides, I am absolutely sure 
that the wire ropes used for elevators, cranes, and cargo winches, etc., 
would not work anywhere as satisfactory if same were operated from the 
top deck of a ship on a stormy night out at sea, or in other words, under such 
difficult conditions as take place when it is necessary to abandon the ship. 
I foresee that lots of trouble would arise—there may be kinks, and the falls, 
as everybody knows, are apt to run foul and, of course, with the ordinary 
manila rope this could readily be taken care of by simply cutting the rope, 
whereas with wire rope it would be necessary to use an axe or to carry along 
heavy wire cutters adding further to the complications. 

Rafts 

Experience has shown that rafts may prove very useful on board ocean¬ 
going vessels, in the light of a temporary refuge, but if we look over the 
records of recent disasters at sea, we will find that whatever rafts were 
put to use, it was only for a comparatively short period of time. In most 
cases people who had been found floating about on rafts, were picked up 
by boats as soon as possible. 

There are a few instances where rafts have actually saved lives but in 
those cases the disaster occurred close to shore and the refugees were not 
left to float about for long. 

The main difficulty with rafts on ocean-going ships and liners is that 
people cannot be put on them before they are thrown into the water, i.e.t 
the raft is thrown overboard from the deck of a liner and perhaps a wave 
carries it a little distance from the ship. People with life-preservers 
properly adjusted, might risk jumping after it but, unless they could swim, 
they might not reach the raft when they landed in the water and only a 


BOATS 


415 


strong, agile person—let us say a sailor, could hope to get on board and then, 
perhaps, could help others to get on if they floated near enough. In short 
the life-saving efficiency of rafts is entirely problematic and depends upon 
conditions. Where a ship sinks quickly, and hundreds of people are left 
struggling in the water with only life-preservers to keep them up, a few 
rafts floating about among them would be of great value, but so would any 
floating wreckage to which they could cling until picked up. However, 
where a ship is on fire, for instance, and must be abandoned before she sinks 
and the rafts can not be floated off but must be thrown from a high deck 
and the people to be saved on them must jump, or be pushed after them— 
it is doubtful whether this can be done successfully when there are women, 
children and old men to be saved. 

It has been proposed to build very large rafts or detachable deck houses 
to take care of a great number of people. Of course, if a ship owner can 
afford to have special deck-houses made, or can arrange to stow rafts of 
enormous size in such a way that they could be launched before the decks 
are awash, this might work out all right, but deck houses as a rule must 
serve other puposes and therefore must have doors and windows and it 
will be very difficult to make these watertight when the deck house is to 
be used as a raft. Furthermore, very large units would be undesirable 
because if in a collision one were damaged, this would throw out a large 
proportion of the safety equipment. This same objection also applies to 
very large lifeboats, taking care of two or three hundred people. 

Generally, speaking, I consider rafts useful in case of disaster in smooth 
waters, such as harbors, rivers or bays, and also out at sea, if it is calm and 
help is near at hand. In rough weather, those who seek refuge on a raft, 
will be washed off—unless they are strong and hardy and the weather is 
warm , so that the hands which cling frantically to the raft will not stiffen 
and lose their hold, and unless the rafts are scientifically constructed with 
considerable freeboard and stability in addition to the required buoyancy. 
This is very necessary, for when rafts are to be used as life-saving equip¬ 
ment, a great deal more attention should be paid to the details of their 
construction because all life-saving equipment should he made as nearly 
fool-proof as possible. 

I believe that actual demonstrations out at sea will show that lifeboat 
equipment is indispensable and rafts are merely useful as a temporary 
refuge while waiting to be picked up by boats that are not filled to the 
utmost of their capacity. 

I can not too strongly urge serious consideration of the lifesaving equip¬ 
ment on board ship. Let us take, for instance, one of the great skyscrapers 
in New York City, which is supposed to be built practically fireproof, yet 
no architect or constructor would dream of depending so absolutely on the 
fireproofness of his building that fire escapes could be dispensed with and 
no serious consideration given to means for getting the thousands of in¬ 
habitants out of the building quickly in case of fire or other accident. The 
elevators are of course the most important system in such a case and 


416 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


technical men and engineers give the most serious consideration to the 
problem of making this system as dependable as possible so that it can take 
care of most of the people to be removed from the building. Independent 
of the elevators are the staircases, and often there are ladders and plat¬ 
forms on the outside of buildings. In case of fire in such a building, the 
inhabitants are quickly and systematically removed to safety and nobody 
would think of staying in the building until the whole structure is on fire 
and then jumping out of a window into a net held by firemen—which is 
sometimes a last resort, but always risky. 



Welin davits in action. Boats getting away from the sinking French 
Steamer “Sontay” torpedoed April 16, 1917. The “ Sontay ” sank in 
four minutes.—International Photo. 

On board ship there is not only the ever present danger of fire but also 
the danger that the ship will sink, and therefore it seems strange that so 
many architects and shipbuilders did not consider lifeboats and floatage 
equipment of sufficient importance to give it serious consideration, although 
in mid-ocean the fire danger is much more horrible than on land, and the 
danger of staking must be provided for also. 

In time of disaster there should be no delay in starting the life-saving 
apparatus, people should not wait until the last moment before abandon¬ 
ing the vessel, and floating off on a raft, any more than they should stay 
in a burning building until the last minute and then all jump out of windows, 
no matter how many nets were spread to receive them. 







BOATS 


417 


More public attention to boats and boat equipment might make it fash¬ 
ionable, as it were, to trav/el on safe ships rather than in floating gilded 
palaces. 

In these days of steam and oil, I know of no better exercise to train the 
seafaring man for all eventualities than the well-conducted boat drill. 
This is particularly desirable as we no longer have many sailing vessels on 
which young men who go to sea can be taught to become real sailors.” 


VII 

Collapsible Boats 

Collapsible boats are generally of the Englehardt type, a 
pontoon bottom with waterproof collapsible sides. 

The following regulation with regard to the carrying of col¬ 
lapsible boats is issued by the U. S. Board of Supervising In¬ 
spectors, Steamboat-Inspection Service: 

Capacity and Allowance of Engelhardt Collapsible Lifeboats 

Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats may be carried as lifeboats 
and rated as class 2C. 

When the Engelhardt collapsible lifeboat is allowed as a life¬ 
boat, it shall be carried under the davits, with sides of boat fully 
extended, and only one Engelhardt collapsible lifeboat shall be 
allowed to be carried under one set of davits except that one nest 
of two Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats shall be allowed to be 
carried under one set of davits on each side of steam vessels of 
2,500 to and including 5,000 gross tons, and one nest of three 
Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats shall be allowed to be carried 
under one set of davits on each side of steam vessels of over 
5,000 gross tons, and when so nested the sides may be collapsed. 

Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats shall be fully equipped as life¬ 
boats as required by these rules and regulations. 

The cubic capacity of Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats shall be 
determined in accordance with the following rule: Measure in 
feet and fractions of a foot the length and breadth outside of 
canvas extension and the depth inside at the place of minimum 
depth taken from the inside of the bottom planking of the bottom 
to the top of gunwale when extended. The product of these 
dimensions multiplied by 0.7 shall be deemed the capacity in 
cubic feet. 

Special attention is called to Captain Lundin’s observation on 
this type of boat carried in nests. 


418 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


VIII 

Radio Equipment 

The motor lifeboat brings with it the logical use of radio 
equipment, especially on passenger liners where a great number 
of people may have to take to the boats and be shepherded by a 
motor boat. No doubt this will be “ required ” in the course of 
time. The radio phone, making possible direct communication 
by voice, in the event of a Morse operator not being in the boat, 
would seem the proper thing, assuming of course that the 
equipments is simple enough for an average person to set up 
and operate. 

Kites 

Captain Wilson-Barker, in his excellent book, “ Things a 
Sailor Needs to Know,” cites the flying of kites from open boats 
by lads from the Schoolship Worcester. Kites may easily be 
sent up four or five hundred feet, flying signals, or even a light. 
Such kite equipment is easily designed, can be knocked down 
and put together in a few minutes. The writer has in mind the 
kites sold “ knocked down ” for a few cents: his small sons fly 
them. A really practical kite could be made with light water¬ 
proof fabric, and stowed in a tin case complete, line and all. 
Such a kite would give the boat, without wireless, a tremendously 
improved chance of being picked up. 

IX 

Boat Handling 

Clearing away and lowering. The order having been given 
“ Clear away the boats! The officers in charge of boat sec¬ 
tions will see that all men are up and at their stations, and that 
petty officers or others in direct charge of particular boats are 
at their appointed stations. It is well to arrange for whistle 
signals. Avoid shouting. 

Under conditions of actual danger, when lowering boats, it is 
well to exercise the utmost caution. Unless the occasion is one 
calling for pell-mell speed, hold all sections on boat deck under 
strict control. Examine all boats carefully when cleared. See 


BOATS 


419 


that chocks are down, gripes off, boat covers out of the way, 
ladders lowered, sea painters led forward (if under headway, 
or aft if making sternboard), that steady men are at their assigned 
places at the falls, and in the 
boat at bow and stern, with a 
cool hand at the releasing 
gear. See that boat gear is 
in order, plug in. 

“ Swing out davits! ” 

Have special care to drop 
life lines from the spans be¬ 
tween the davit heads. 

“ Lower handsomely! ” 

‘‘ Avast lowering! ” Boat 
has reached the passenger 
deck. Men in boat steady 
her at rail and take on board 
quota of passengers. Women 
and children first . 

Never allow passengers to 
swarm up on the boat deck 
during this maneuver. Sta¬ 
tion men at the gangways to 
avoid this. Unless the vessel 
is actually going down fast, 
or listed so far over that boats will not come in to the rail, 
keep passengers away from the davits and falls. 

When loaded: 

“ Mind your painters! ” Take in slack of these, and stand 
by to pay out as boa.t goes down. 

“ Lower handsomely! ” Boat is sent to the water, and 
released and turned over to the crew in charge. 

Where one set of davits serve two or more boats it is necessary 
to round up on the falls, or hook other falls, or make use of those 
already hooked. In such work the greatest care must be taken 
to avoid fouling and confusion. 

A vessel seldom goes down so fast that it does not pay to take 
time enough to do things right. 

When a vessel goes down with a bad list, certain devices such 






420 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


as rollers and skids have been devised to enable the boat to ride 
down on the high side of the vessel. These are practical in 
application and afford a certain safeguard to the sides of a boat 
scraping over the skin of the ship. However boats should be 
of sufficient strength to withstand a good deal of knocking about 
in this fashion. 



Slinging a boat by a crane or cargo boom. Always have a ring or shackle 
spliced or otherwise secured at the middle of span. 


The lowering of quarter boats, and of running boats is a 
matter of routine and special precautions need not be assumed. 
Care should always be taken in lowering to have a sea painter 
out, unless in harbor, or in smooth water. With a high sided 
vessel this is most important as the releasing gear will cast the 
boat off as soon as water bourn and she may drift away. 

Hoisting boats. The hoisting of boats is less of an emergency 
measure, but calls for certain precautions. 

See the davits steady, falls clear, and manned, or be certain 
that sufficient power is available on the winches to easily lift 
the boat. Have all hands but two or three come up over the 
Jacob’s ladder. 

“ All hooked forward? ” Always have them hook the forward 
fall first (unless under sternboard, then hook aft first). 

“ All hooked aft? ” 

“ Aye, aye, sir! ” From after fall. At once give the order: 

“ Hoist away—lively! ” Have just enough slack on the fall 
to hook easily. 











BOATS 


421 


It is important to pick up a boat quickly when in a seaway to 
avoid getting it a foot or two out of the water and then having a 
big seas mash up under the boat, possibly with disastrous 
results. 



Steward releasing gear , closed. Steward releasing gear , open. 


The swinging in and securing of a boat in a seaway is a good 
piece of work to test the seamanship of a crew. It should be 
done by way of practice whenever possible. Have life lines 
and buoys handy and hands stationed aft with a couple of buoys 
bent to heaving lines. 

Oil. In all boat work in a rough sea the careful and skilful 
seaman will make use of his vessel as a lee, against wind and 
waves, when possible, and will also make use of oil to smooth the 
work wherever possible. With slow headway, oil sent through 
the forward pipes will help a wonderful lot in getting boats in 
and out of the water without accident. On long vessels oil 
reservoirs on the boat deck at sufficient intervals would not be a 
bad idea. When the boats must be used in rough weather the 




422 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


need for some such thing is always great, and the turning of a 
cock might work wonders, and save many lives and much 
valuable equipment. 




Two methods of reeving boat falls. A. — Non-toppling block. B. 
Regular block. Note method of crossing falls in B , to prevent canting of 
upper block. 

The Raymond Releasing Gear 

The boat falls are rove off as a continuous fall so that as long 
as one end of the boat is suspended by the fall both ends of the 
fall remain under tension. This is very necessary as the 
Raymond Releasing Hook and the Yankee Releasing Shackle, 
both operate automatically as soon as the weight is taken off of 










































































BOATS 


423 


their respective falls. It is therefore necessary to reeve the falls 
as shown so that both hooks, or both shackles, whichever is used, 
are released at the same time, that 
is when the boat is fully afloat through 
her whole length. 

This gear is especially useful for 
the quarter life boats. 

The Raymond Releasing Hook 
The becket A is passed through the 
shackle D and the shackle rests in the 
turn of the releasing weight C forming E 

the end of the hook B. The neck of M E 

the hook AT is a swivel connection. L. 

When the hook is fast the becket A 

can be hitched about N for further security. When the boat is 
lowered, unhitch A and as soon as the boat is afloat the weight 
C falls, as shown in sketch, throwing the 
hook clear of the shackle. E is the lift¬ 
ing rod, shown with boat floating in the 
second figure and hook clear. 

The Yankee Releasing Shackle 
This works on the same principle as 
the releasing hook. When the weight 
of the boat is carried, shown in closed 
figure, the heavy side of shackle C is 
lifted up and engaged in the jog on B 
and held by the wedge A. In lowering 
pull out A and when E rises, the side C 
falls down, as it rotates about a pin on an oval opening, shown 
by dotted line in sketch, and the shackle on the lower block is 
released as shown. 




X 


Boats Under Oars 

Oars . Oars are generally of ash. They should be of the 
best quality and carefully stowed in the boats. An oar im¬ 
properly stowed will warp and take on a twist making it prac- 





















424 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Boys of the Schoolship “ Newport ” out for boat practice in 
San Juan (Porto Rico ) Harbor. 

tically useless, as it turns out of the hands when pulling. The 
parts of an oar are shown in the illustration. In double banked 
boats stow oars blades forward. In single banked boats stow 
blades aft. 

Oars for a double banked boat should be about twice the 
length of the thwart from which they are used. 

The proper length of an oar for a single banked boat is two 
times the beam at oarlock plus the freeboard at oarlock. 


(- 1 

^■Leather _ _ . 

r - ----1 6 —'' _ 1 

I ■ 

Handle | 

..mnniiiniur..—-= 


H 

Tip; 

!<—->] 




Rowing. Rowing is a fine art in the navy, but in the merchant 
service it is practically neglected, though the writer remembers 
seeing many fine oarsmen on merchant craft, men who were 
natural sailors and had mastered the art of boats in their youth, 
or through some lucky training. Schoolship boys are as a rule 
well trained in boat work. Navy seamen who are coming into 
the merchant service after their enlistments, many of them as 
junior officers, are bringing with them the splendid navy training 
in boat work. This should help to better standards and a better 
feeling with regard to boats and their usefulness. 

























BOATS 


425 


Rowing cannot be learned from books but the principle points 
to be observed are the following: 



Rowing a whale boat. An emergency life boat crew. Half of crew 
are engineers off watch. 


Sit square on thwart, facing aft. 

Feet on stretcher, which should be properly placed. Many 
boats have two or three notches in the floor stringers carry¬ 
ing the stretchers so they can be shifted. 

Hold oar with an easy grip, palms down. In whale boats 
many men find it easier to grasp the oar with the hand 
farthest from the loom, palm up. Some rowers in this type 
of boat swing the oar past the body; this looks good but 
don’t help the boat through the water. 

Start the stroke, blade of oar vertical, wrists straight body 
bent well forward. Lift handle dipping blade as the stroke 
begins, doing the pulling with the body. 

End the stroke body bent back, and as the body comes upright 
pull it up against the oar, the last third of the stroke being 
due to this pull of the arms. This will finish the stroke 
with the body nearly upright. 




426 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Feather the oar at the end of the stroke. The elbows being 
down it is easy to drop the wrists as the blade leaves the 
water, and on the recovery the blade moves forward over 
the water with the upper edge forward, presenting no surface 
to wind or wave. 



A whaler, finishing the stroke. Note the easy erect position of the oarsmen. 

The whaleboat stroke should be as long and swinging as 
possible. An easy stroke with plenty of beef in it. 

The lifeboat stroke, corresponding to that of a navy cutter 
(double banked boats). Must be shorter due to the differ¬ 
ence in length of loom in board. 



A double banked boat. A ten-oared cutter. Middle of stroke. 

Note the “ bee/” on the oars. 

In double banked boats oarsmen are apt to drop into a short 
nervous choppy stroke. Avoid this and keep stroke as long 
as possible. Lifeboats are apt to be very high sided unless 
loaded deep, and this should be taken into consideration in 
fitting them with oars. 






BOATS 


427 


Catching crabs is a common practice, with some oarsmen. 
The oar dipping under oh the recovery, suddenly wrenches 
from him, or the handle kicks ahead and knocks him from 
the thwart. 

Don’t overwork a green crew of oarsmen. Give them plenty 
of rest to start with. After a crew is seasoned it is sur¬ 
prising how long they can keep going without undue fatigue. 

Fancy rowing is not good practice at sea. The feathering of 
the lower edge of the blade against the water is suitable 
for park lagoons and the like. At sea the practice is to bring 
the oar parallel to the surface of the water on the recovery. 

Trailing lines should be fitted on all lifeboat oars as a pre¬ 
caution against loss when catching crabs, letting go, etc. 

Sculling. Sculling is the art of sending a small boat through 
the water by means of a single oar over the stern or quarter. 
The sculler stands in the stern sheets facing aft. He holds the 
oar at the level of his chest palms inboard on either side of the 
handle, knuckles up. The oar resting in a stern notch is kept 
submerged and swung from side to side, alternately, by turning 
the wrists, the blade inclined, lower edge toward the side to 
which it is moving. This gives a continuous action like that of 
the tail of a fish. A little practice will give a man control of a 
boat by this method, the best for single rowing. 

Japanese rowing sampans, carry their oars in crotches, the 
long sweeps trailing aft and the rowers working them from side 
to side as in sculling. These oars are very long and heavy and 
are constructed with an angle in the loom above the crotch, 
dropping the handle for about a foot on a long oar. The pushing 
of the oar outboard or inboard causes it to feather automatically. 
With five of these on a side a long sampan attains surprising 
speed with apparently little effort, the rowers standing, their 
bodies swaying from side to side. 

The whole subject of rowing is one of fascination. We in the 
present day of motors are out of touch with the finer points of 
the great art. The ancient Mediterranean saw the galley in its 
prime, the uniremes of the Romans, and the moneres of the 
Greeks, with only one rank of oars. Then came the triacontoros , 
with thirty men bending at the sweeps, the pentekontoros, with 
fifty galley slaves sweating at the banks of oars. And in the 
great ship Hiero , built by no less a light than Archimedes, the 


428 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


ranks of oars were raised to forty, but the manner in which they 
were arranged has passed away with much of the ancient lore 
of Greece. 

In the more modern galleys used in the Mediterranean from 
the 12th to the 18th centuries, oars were from forty to fifty feet 
long and were manned by from three to four men each. 

But lack of space forbids more mention of these ancient 
things. Still, at any moment, the modern seaman may have 
taken his place at the oars, and a wholesome respect and under¬ 
standing of this great tool of the sea is well worth while. 

Steering. While all boats are fitted with rudders, still no 
boat can be properly handled in a heavy sea without the aid of a 
steering oar. The steering oar should be of selected ash, and 
for a long whaleboat it will be about eighteen feet in length. 
Handling a steering oar is a matter of practice alone. The 
operation is self evident. If a man is a boatman, has his sea 
legs under him, and knows how to handle the men who are 
rowing, he will soon master the use of the long sweep over the 
stern. 

Handling of a single banked boat. The whaleboat is typical 
of this type. It usually carries six oars, the oarsmen sitting on 
alternate thwarts and on the side opposite the rowlock. 

The smart appearance of such a boat, the fine quality of boat- 
manship to be attained through its use, and the extra ordinary 
buoyancy and ability of this boat in a heavy sea should make it 
mandatory on every vessel, two at least, one on each quarter, 
fitted as life boats for lowering in the event of a man over¬ 
board, or the necessity of going to the assistance of a vessel in 
distress. 

The boat being lowered, see the men in their places, bow oars¬ 
man standing on the bottom boards (never allow a man to stand 
on a thwart), with his boat hook fending off the bow, all other 
men remain seated. Coxswain, at after thwart, with after boat 
hook. Tiller shipped, or yoke lines rigged. Oars are lying on 
thwarts, rowlocks are unshipped. The officer steps into the 
boat. Takes his seat, gets hold of yoke lines. 

“ Shove off forward! ” Bow swings out, if there is current. 

“ Shove off aft / ” Stroke oar (coxswain) gives boat a good 
shove with his hook and she rides clear of the ship’s side. 


BOATS 


429 


“ 0ut oars! ” The oarsmen ship the rowlocks on the side on 
which they are sitting and lift the blade of the oars into these. 
That is, the men to port ship the rowlocks and place the blades 
for the men sitting to starboard. This prevents scrambling 
about the boat. Then each man takes the handle of his own 
oar and slides it outboard parallel with the water, and per¬ 
pendicular to the line of the keel, blade parallel with the water. 
This is the position taken at the order u Oars! 11 when rowing. 



“ Oars! ” 


Boat being on the starboard side and wishing to go clear. 
“ Hold water starboard, give way port! ” the boat swigs rapidly 
to starboard. 

With a green crew it is well to give the command “ Oars! ” 
bringing all oars out of the water as before, and then the com¬ 
mand “ Give way together !” With a good crew and the 
officer watching the stroke, he can give the latter command at 
the proper time and start them off without coming to rest. 

All commands should be preceded by the order “ Stand by! ” 
Except in close quarters where the whole crew are at attention 
and stand by orders may be dispensed with. 

In approaching a landing or in coming alongside of a vessel at 
anchor, judgment must be used with regard to the strength and 











430 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


direction of the current, if any, the state of the sea, and the 
weight and carrying power of the boat. Be careful in making 
an approach to have the boat under complete control, do not 
come alongside too fast, if in doubt have the crew lay on their 
oars for a moment, then give ’way again if need be. Trail bow 
in plenty of time, and at the order “ Trail oarsl ” the oarsmen 
allow their oars to trail, or if necessary, boat the oars, by giving 
the order “ In bow! ” and follow this by “ Boat your oars! ” 

In coming alongside the bow and stroke oarsmen take care of 
the boat, get out the boat hooks and tend her at the gangway. 
The others remain seated unless ordered to do different. As soon 
as a boat comes alongside of a wharf or jetty, the oarsmen put 
out their fenders as they boat their oars. 

To point oars in a boat is to use them on the bottom to shove 


her off if she is aground. 

Some officers use the order “ ’ way enough! ” As a matter 
of fact it is simply giving information to the rowers and letting 
them act. The better plan is to give positive orders, managing 
the entire business from the standpoint 
of the officer in charge. 

Handling a double banked boat. Here 
the commands are somewhat different 
due to the placement of the oarsmen. 

Getting under way from a gangway or 
a wharf the procedure is as follows: 

“ Stand by! ” Crew are at attention. The bow men take 
care of their painter or mind their boat hook, usually the man 
next the ship’s side has the boat hook and his mate tends the 
painter. 

“ Up oars! ” The men toss their oars, holding them upright 
trimmed with blades fore and aft, all oars being up but the bow 



Boat hooks. 


and stroke oar next the gangway. 

The boat is now ready, these orders having been attended 
to before the boat is so reported. Passengers then enter boat, 
lying at gangway with oars up. 

“ Shove off forward! ” Bow oarsmen shove boat clear and 
let go sea painter, or haul in painter if boat’s gear is used. After 
boat hook holds on a moment to give her a sheer away from 
the side if current is running. Then “ Shove off aft! ” and the 
after boat hook gives her a shove ahead clear of the side. 


BOATS 


431 


“ Let fall! ” The oars are dropped into the rowlocks in the 
position of “ oars” 

“ Give way together! ” As soon as the bow and stroke oars¬ 
men can do so they toss their oars, the bow oars kissing and let 
fall taking up the stroke. 

In coming alongside the order “ In Bows! ” brings in the 
forward oars, the men toss and boat their oars, getting them in 
as expeditiously as possible. They then face forward with 
boat hook on side next ship and outside man ready to catch the 
gangway rope. 

As the ship is approached lay on the oars if in doubt, but if 
certain of enough headway give the order “ Toss! ” At this 
command the oars come up smartly, tips “ kiss,” and blades are 
trimmed in line fore and aft as before. 

“ Boat your oars! ” when alongside. 

There are many fine points to boat handling under oars that 
can only be learned by constant practice. 

Backing water to get sternboard, holding water, and backing 
and holding, or pulling and holding, enable the rowing boat to 
be taken into any place where there is room enough to work the 
oars. When running into a narrow passage as between boats 
in a basin, trail or toss, rather than to slide in the looms, as an 
error of judgment may cost you several oars besides looking 
rather bad. 

Again be sure to boat oars properly. Blades aft in a whaler 
or single banked boat, and blades forward in a double banked 
boat. The reason is at once apparent when working the boats. 

“ Stern all! ” that great command of the whaler, simply 
means back water. This should be preceded by “ Hold water” 
until the boat has lost her headway. 

The following points should be kept in mind in handling boats 
under oars: 

A laden boat holds her way much longer than a light boat. 

In pulling across a current head up against the current and 
try to get a range on your required course. 

In a river when pulling against the main stream, hug shore 
where current is liable to be less. 

In a motor boat get compass bearing of ship or shore, with 
boat headed on course. This will take care of any devi¬ 
ation. 

16 


432 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Do not go alongside of a vessel having sternboard, or when 
she is backing her engines. 

In boarding a vessel, especially a man-of-war, have your boat 
pull off and lay clear of the gangway. If you will be on 
board for some time, ask permission to have your boat hauled 
out to the boom. When about to leave ask to have your 
boat brought to the gangway. 


XI 

Running Out A Line 

The following from “ The Deck and Boat Book ” of the U. S. 
Navy summarizes what is to be said about this important use 
of boats: 

1. Coil the greater part of the line in the stern sheets, but 
take end enough in the bow to make fast when you reach the 
landing. Pull away and let the ship pay out more line until 
you are sure of having enough in the boat to reach, then pay 
out from the boat. Always have plenty of good seizing stuff for 
making all secure, and if you are to stand by the line, have an 
ax ready for cutting in case you are ordered to do so. 

2. If laying out with the tide, take less line in the boat than 
otherwise. If against the side, it will save work to take all the 
line in the boat, pull up and make fast, then bring the end back to 
the ship. With a long line to be laid out in a strong current, it 
will usually be necessary to have several boats—one to run away 
with the end, the other to underrun the line at intervals, floating 
it and pulling upstream with the bight. 

3. If the line is to be secured to a post, but a bowline in the 
end before starting and throw this over the post. Bend on a 
heaving line and let the bow oarsman throw this, if hands are 
standing by to receive it, or jump ashore with it himself if neces¬ 
sary. 


XII 

Management of Open Boats in a Surf 

The following rules on the management of open boats in a 
surf have long been accepted as standard practice: 


BOATS 


433 


Rules of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, of Great 
Britain , on the Management of Open Rowing Boats 
in a Surf; Beaching Them, Etc. 


In Rowing to Seaward 

As a general rule, speed must be given to a boat rowing against 
a heavy surf. 

Indeed, under some circumstances, her safety will depend on 
the utmost possible speed being attained on meeting a sea. 

For, if the sea be really heavy, and the wind blowing a hard 
onshore gale, it can only be by the utmost exertions of the crew 
that any headway can be made. The great danger then is, 
that an approaching heavy sea may carry the boat away on its 
front, and turn it broadside on, or up-end it, either effect being 
immediately fatal. A boat’s only chance in such D 
a case, is to obtain such way as shall enable her . must have 
to pass end-on, through the crest of the sea, and su ^ lcie ^ t wa y 
leave it as soon as possible behind her. Of upon her 
course if there be a rather heavy surf, but no wind, or the wind 
off shore, and opposed to the surf, as is often the case, a boat 
might be propelled so rapidly through it, that her bow would 
fall more suddenly and heavily after topping the sea, than if her 
way had been checked; and it may therefore only be when the 
sea is of such magnitude, and the boat of such a character, that 
there may be chance of the former carrying her back before it, 
that full speed should be given to her. 

It may also happen that, by careful management under such 
circumstances, a boat may be made to avoid the sea, so that each 
wave may break ahead of her, which may be the „ , , . 

only chance of safety in a small boat; but if the e * p n oa e " 
shore be flat and the broken water extend to a w °°” 
great distance from it, this will often be impossible. 


tween breakers 


The following general rules for rowing to seaward may there¬ 
fore be relied on: 


1. If sufficient command can be kept over a boat by the skill 
of those on board her, avoid or “ dodge ” the sea if possible, 
so as not to meet it at the moment of its breaking T . 

or curling over. ^ impor an 

2. Against a head gale and heavy surf, get all ru es 
possible speed on a boat on the approach of every sea which 
cannot be avoided. 

If more speed can be given to a boat than is sufficient to pre¬ 
vent her being carried back by a surf, her way may be checked 
on its approach, which will give her an easier passage over it. 






434 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


On Running Before a Broken Sea, or Surf, to the Shore 

The one great danger, when running before a broken sea, is 
that of broaching-to. To that peculiar effect of the sea, so fre¬ 
quently destructive of human life, the utmost attention must be 
directed. 

The cause of a boat’s broaching-to, when running before a 
broken sea or surf, is, that her own motion being in the same 
direction as that of the sea, whether it be given by the force of 
oars or sails, or by the force of the sea itself, she opposes no 
resistance to it, but is carried before it. Thus, if a boat be 
running with her bow to the shore, and her stern to the sea, the 
effect of a surf or roller, on its overtaking her, is to throw up the 
stern, and as a consequence to depress the bow; if she then has 
sufficient inertia (which will be proportional to weight) to allow 
the sea to pass her, she will in succession pass through the 
descending, the horizontal and the ascending positions, as the 
crest of the wave passes successively her stern, her midships, 
and her bow in the reverse order in which the same positions 
occur to a boat propelled to seaward against a surf. This may 
be defined as the safe mode of running before a broken sea. 

But if a boat on being overtaken by a heavy surf, has not 
sufficient inertia to allow it to pass her, the first of the three posi¬ 
tions above enumerated alone occurs—her stern is raised high 
in the air and the wave carries the boat before it on its front or 
unsafe side, sometimes with frightful velocity, the bow all the 
time being deeply immersed in the hollow of the sea, where the 
water, being stationary or comparatively so, offers a resistance, 
whilst the crest of the sea, having the actual motion which causes 
it to break, forces onward the stern, or rear end of the boat. 

A boat will, in this position, sometimes aided by careful oar- 
steerage, run a considerable distance until the wave has broken 
and expended itself. But it will often happen, that if the bow be 
low, it will be driven under water, when the buoyancy being lost 
forward, whilst the sea presses on the stern, the boat will be 
thrown (as it is termed) end-over-end; or if the bow be high, or 
it be protected, as in most lifeboats, by a bow air-chamber, so 
that it does not become submerged, that the resistance forward, 
acting on one bow, will slightly turn the boat’s head, and the 
force of the surf being transferred to the opposite quarter, she 
will in a moment be turned round broadside by the sea and be 
thrown by it on her beam-ends, or altogether capsized. It is 
in this manner that most boats are upset in a surf, especially on 
flat coasts, and in this way many lives are annually lost amongst 
merchant seamen when attempting to land, after being com¬ 
pelled to desert their vessels. 

Hence it follows that the management of a boat, when landing 


BOATS 


435 


through a heavy surf must, as far as possible, be assimilated to 
that when proceeding to seaward against one, at least so far as 
to stop her progress shoreward at the moment of being over¬ 
taken by a heavy sea, and thus enabling it to pass her. There 
are different ways of effecting this object: 

1. By turning a boat’s head to the sea before entering the 

broken water, and then backing in stern foremost, pulling a few 
strokes ahead to meet each heavy sea, and then . 

again backing astern. If a sea be really heavy, rules 

and a boat small, this plan will be generally the ru es 
safest, as a boat can be kept more under command when the 
full force of the oars can be used against a heavy surf, than by 
backing them only. 

2. If rowing to shore with the stern to seaward, by backing all 
the oars on the approach of a heavy sea, and rowing ahead again 
as soon as it has passed to the bow of the boat, thus rowing in 
on the back of the wave; or, as is practised in some lifeboats, 
placing the after-oarsmen with their faces forward, and making 
them row back at each sea on its approach. 

3. If rowed in bow foremost, by towing astern a pig of ballast 
or large stone, or a large basket, or canvas bag termed a “drogue” 
or drag, made for the purpose, the object of each being to hold 
the boat’s stern back, and to prevent her being turned broadside 
to the sea or broaching-to. 

Drogues are in common use by the boatmen on the Norfolk 
coast; they are conical-shaped bags of about the same form and 
proportionate length and breadth as a candle extinguisher, about 
two feet wide at the mouth and four and a half feet long. They 
are towed with the mouth foremost by a stout Use , d ue 
rope, a small line, termed a tripping line, being 
fast to the apex or pointed end. When towed with the mouth 
foremost, they fill with water, and offer a considerable resistance, 
thereby holding back the stern; by letting go the stouter rope 
and retaining the smaller line, their position is reversed, when 
they collapse, and can be readily hauled into the boat. 

Drogues are chiefly used in sailing-boats, when they both serve 
to check a boat’s way and to keep her end on to the sea. They 
are, however, a great source of safety in rowing-boats, and the 
rowing lifeboats of the National Lifeboat Institution are now all 


provided with them. 

A boat’s sail bent to a yard, and towed astern loosed, the yard 
being attached to a line capable of being veered, hauled or let 
go, will act in some measure as a drogue, and will tend much to 
break the force of the sea immediately astern of the boat. 

Heavy weights should be kept out of the extreme ends of a 
boat; but when rowing before a heavy sea the best trim is 
deepest by the stern, which prevents the stern Tyim hQat 
being readily thrown on. 


436 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A boat should be steered by an oar over the stern, or on one 
quarter when running before a sea, as the rudder will then at 
times be of no use. If the rudder be shipped, it . 
should be kept amidships on a sea breaking over eerm ff oar 
the stern. 

The following general rules may therefore be depended on 
when running before, or attempting to land, through a heavy 
surf or broken water: 


1. As far as possible avoid each sea by placing the boat where 
the sea will break ahead or astern of her. 

2. If the sea be very heavy, or if the boat be very small, and 

especially if she have a square stern, bring her bow round to 
seaward and back her in, rowing ahead against p . , 

each heavy surf that cannot be avoided suf- genera 
ficiently to allow it to pass the boat. 

3. If it be considered safe to proceed to the shore bow fore¬ 
most, back the oars against each sea on its approach so as to 
stop the boat’s way through the water as far as possible and if 
there is a drogue, or any other instrument in the boat that may 
be used as one, tow it astern to aid in keeping the boat end-on 
to the sea, which is the chief object in view. 

4. Bring the principal weights in the boat towards the end that 
is to seaward, but not to the extreme end. 

5. If a boat, worked by both sails and oars, be running under 
sail for the land through a heavy sea, her crew should, under all 
circumstances, unless the beach be quite steep, take down her 
masts and sails before entering the broken water, and take her 
to land under oars alone, as above described. 

If she has sails only, her sails should be much reduced, a half- 
lowered foresail or other small head-sail being sufficient. 


Beaching or Landing Through a Surf 

The running before a surf or broken sea, and the beaching or 
landing of a boat, are two distinct operations; the management 
of boats, as above recommended, has exclusive nvr 
reference to running before a surf where the Dl ff erence be ~ 
shore is so flat that the broken water extends to twe * nstee P beach 
some distance from the beach. Thus on a very and fl at shore 
steep beach, the first heavy fall of broken water will be on the 
beach itself, whilst on some very flat shores there will be broken 
water as far as the eye can reach, sometimes extending to even 
four or five miles from the land. The outermost line of broken 
water, on a flat shore, where the waves break in three or four 
fathoms water, is the heaviest, and therefore the most danger¬ 
ous, and when it has been passed through in safety, the danger 
lessens as the water shoals, until, on nearing the land, its force 


BOATS 


437 


is spent and its power harmless. As the character of the sea is 
quite different on steep and flat shores, so is the piat beach 
customary management of boats on landing dif- methods 
ferent in the two situations. On the flat shore, 
whether a boat be run or backed in, she is kept straight before 
or end to the sea until she is fairly aground, when each surf 
takes her further in as it overtakes her, aided by the crew, who 
will then generally jump out to lighten her, and drag her in by 
her sides. As above stated, sail will, in this case, have been pre¬ 
viously taken in if set, and the boat will have been rowed or 
backed in by oars alone. 

On the other hand, on the steep beach, it is the general prac¬ 
tice, in a boat of any size, to retain speed right on to the beach, 
and in the act of landing, whether under oars or sail, to turn the 
boat’s bow half round towards the direction s heach 
from which the surf is running, so that she may methods 
be thrown on her broadside up the beach, when 
abundance of help is usually at hand to haul her as quickly as 
possible out of the reach of the sea. In such situations, we 
believe, it is nowhere the practice to back a boat in stern fore¬ 
most under oars , but to row in under full speed as above de¬ 
scribed '. 

The average merchantman will have only the problem of 
beaching or running before a sea to contend with. In the event 
of working a life boat up to a beach upon which the surf is 
running, remember that quite a bad surf will look harmless when 
seen from the sea. If the boat has been out for a considerable 
length of time and the crew are weak and perhaps impatient, use 
great care in going through. Stand off, if possible, until help 
arrives abreast the boat. 

The writer has in mind the experience of a Coast Guard 
officer taking passage on a Pacific Coast steamer with his wife. 
It was necessary to abandon the vessel and this gentleman, 
being experienced, was placed in charge of a boat by the master 
of the vessel. The boat was filled with laborers and the officer 
had his wife with him. After a trying time he made the coast, 
having separated from the other boats during the night. 

He made for a lighthouse and saw that the boat was observed. 
A heavy surf was running, although it did not look bad from the 
boat. 

The laborers who were at the oars were tired and thirsty, they 
insisted upon going in at once. They saw the shore and would 
brook no delay. 


438 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Unfortunately I never carry a gun,” this gentlemen said in 
explaining his experience. They were rowing, there were no 
sailors in the boat, a few of the men only partly understood my 
frantic efforts to stop them. 

“ If I had had a gun I would have shot one, at least wounded 
him, and might have kept control of the boat. 

“ We went through the surf and were capsized a half hour 
before assistance arrived. My wife was drowned, though I 
succeeded in getting her almost to the beach three times. 

“ The laborers were all saved but were too dazed and fright¬ 
ened to render me any assistance.” 

Officers and petty officers in charge of life boats should be 
armed. It may be necessary at some time to carry out drastic 
measures of discipline for the safety of all concerned. 

XIII 

Riding Out a Gale in Small Boats 

At times it becomes necessary to ride out heavy weather in 
small boats where vessels have been abandoned far from shore. 
Under such circumstances every precaution must be taken to 
make the boats more seaworthy. Canvas washboards rigged 
up forward are often very helpful. The boat should be kept 
trimmed and bailed. 

The first thing to be done, of course, is to rig a sea anchor. 
The U. S. Regulations require that all boats be fitted with a 
sea anchor, also that they shall be provided with an oil tank 
constructed to distribute the oil and so fitted that it can be 
attached to the sea anchor, this tank must have a capacity of 
one gallon at least. 

So far the best arrangement for this purpose, combining the 
sea anchor and the oil tank, is the Rouse Patent Sea Anchor. 
This device, the invention of Captain Frederick Rouse of New 
York, has proven of great value. The small 1 y 2 gallon tank 
should hold out at least eight hours. 

However any seaman worth his salt should be able to impor- 
vise a sea anchor, rigging boat spars to a bridle and weighting 
it with the boat anchor. In riding to a sea anchor pay out suf¬ 
ficient line, be certain that the line is well secured to the anchor, 


BOATS 


439 


that the bridle will not slew and that the line is protected from 
chafe where it runs over the bow of the boat. 



A tripping line is useless. If the sea anchor is to come in the 
sea will be sufficiently smooth to allow the boat to be hauled up 
to the anchor. 

Where oil is to be used and the oil bag is not directly attached 
to the anchor, it might be well to rig a block and line for hauling 
the oil bag in when empty and sending it back after filling. This 
must be done, of course, as soon as the anchor is constructed. 

XIV 

Boarding a Wreck 

The following concise directions are taken from “ The Deck 
and Boat Book ” of the U. S. Navy: 

1. Whenever practicable, a vessel, whether stranded or 
afloat, should be boarded from to leeward, as the principal 
danger is that the boat may collide against the vessel or be 
swamped by the rebound of the sea, and the greater violence of 
the sea on the weather side of the vessel renders such accidents 
more liable to occur on that side. 

2 . If a stranded vessel is broadside to the sea, the chief 
danger in boarding to leeward is the possible falling of the 
masts, or that the boat may be stove by the wreckage alongside. 




440 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Under such circumstances it may be necessary to take a wrecked 
crew into a lifeboat from the bow or stern of the wreck. In 
boarding a wreck that is stranded on a flat shore, lifeboats 
usually anchor to windward and veer down from a safe distance 
until near enough to throw a line on board. 

3. In rescuing people from a drifting wreck, approach from 
leeward, taking care to avoid wreckage floating alongside. If 
there is much wind it is best to lay well off, throw a strong line 
aboard, have the people secure the line around their bodies, one 
at a time, and jump overboard, for if the boat gets alongside of a 
wreck which is rapidly drifting to leeward, there is danger of 
swamping, and much difficulty in getting her clear of the side. 

4. Should it be necessary to go alongside, it is preferable to 
run the bow or stern to the gangway or sea ladder, keeping her 
headed at right angles to the ship’s keel, with oars out ready for 
pulling or backing away. 

5. An exception to the usual rule of boarding a drifting vessel 
to leeward occurs in the case of a vessel of very low freeboard, 
such as small schooners etc. Board such craft on the weather 
quarter to avoid being stove in by her main boom chains, etc. 

In the not unusual case of a passenger or other vessel founder¬ 
ing, with one or more vessels standing by, great judgment is 
necessary in order that lives may be saved. The best boat, or 
boats should be lowered, all superfluous gear taken out, with 
the exception, perhaps of sea anchor and oil. Extra coils of 
two and a half or three inch manila may be needed. 

The rescuing vessels should try, in an open sea, to blanket the 
wreck, and to provide a “ slick ” by the careful distribution of 
oil from windward. (See page 711). 

Where a line cannot be drifted down, it may be possible to 
put a line over the vessel by use of the Lyle gun, and in a sea of 
extra height, men may be dragged to the rescuing ship, to lee¬ 
ward by means of an endless line as in the case of the breeches 
buoy operated from the shore. 

It is extremely difficult to do more than indicate certain possible 
operations. In such situations seamanship comes into its own 
and many years of preparation find their usefulness in the saving 
of life and property. 

Where radio is working, an understanding can be arrived at 
between the wreck and the rescuers. Otherwise use the Inter¬ 
national Code, or flag semaphores, though the code is far more 
definite and reliable over considerable distances. Be certain 


BOATS 


441 



that both sides understand the manner of rescue to be adopted. 
In any event it might be well for the master of the rescuing 
vessel to always assume direction . If this rule were uni¬ 
versally understood a great deal of hesitation and confusion 
would be saved, even though the skipper of a liner might have 
to take orders from the captain of a tramp. 

XV 

Man Overboard 


A quarter boat ready for instant lowering. A. Knotted life lines. B. 
Boat pad to prevent chafe against strong back. C. Slip or pelican hook to 
release gripes. Old fashioned~ davits, swung out. Boat griped against 
strongback. 

When a man falls overboard the things to be done at once 
are as follows: 

A. Stop engines or he may be cut up by the screws . Give 

helm away from the side from which he has fallen, z.e., 
if man goes over on starboard , port your helm. 

B. Drop buoys from wings of bridge, these are the buoys to 

which water lights are attached. 









442 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


C. Order lee life boat cleared away. 

D. Keep sharp lookout on surface of water in position of the 

wake at time of making turn. 

E. At night don’t bother to keep lookout for man, head for 

buoys and get boat out. 

F. Put searchlight in commission and sweep vicinity of buoys, 

keeping lookout with night glasses. 

In any well regulated ship a lifeboat’s crew is designated in 
each watch. These men should be mustered at night at the 
beginning of the watch and should be in readiness for a call. 

Much of the above should be done at once, especially the 
directions under A. 

With the helm hard over, the vessel will pass directly over the 
place, or very near it at least, where the man was dropped. 
With the water light going this can readily be seen. Start 
engines ahead slow, and when the course has been regained, 
or nearly so, stop. 

Then stand by to lower away life boat. 

The usual precautions in lowering are to be observed. 

In reporting man overboard it is well to add which side. 

“ Man Overboard— Port! ” or 

“ Man Overboard— Starboard! ” 

This will give the officer on the bridge the necessary informa¬ 
tion for turning. 

As soon as anyone goes overboard, whoever sees him should 
at once release a life buoy, and if he sees the man throw the 
buoy at him. 

When falling overboard strike out away from the ship. 

At sea in a fog, boat leaving ship should carry a compass, 
though return to vessel can usually be made by sound signal. 

In an extra heavy sea, vessel going into it, it is best to stop, 
form a lee, and send boat back under lee of vessel. When sea 
is too high to admit of lowering boat, work vessel back to point 
where man went overboard and throw line to him. If necessary 
lower a man to him, put rescuer into a life jacket. 

Use oil where it can be done. (See page 711). 


BOATS 


443 


XVI 

Sailing Boats 



A fine sport. 

Boat rigs for the life and working boats of vessels have gradu¬ 
ally simmered down to the following: 

The standing lug . 

The sprit sail. 


Ensign Halliard Cleat) 
Ferrule 


--Lacing 

-■'Eyelets 

Mast Sheave 
Mast Head Band; 
-MastTrave/er 
-Slings of Yard 
-Yard Fore 

--Shroud 



Mam 

Sail 

ReefPoints- 
Boom\ 


Main 

Sheet 


'"Block 
on shroud 

—Shroud whip 

.-'Foremast 


Standing lug. 

























444 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


These sails, with the addition of a jib, are used singly or on 
two masts. For large boats two masts are generally stepped 
because of greater ease in handling. 

The standing lug. The standing lug rig on two masts with a 
“ lug foresail,” hauling aft without a boom, is the simplest rig 
that still presents easy handling and quick reefing features. 
The rig is self explanatory from the illustrations. When reefed 
down very little sail is exposed, and when under stress the use 
of a jib and trysail on the fore and trysail on the main can be 
provided for. 



Sprit sail rig. 


One of the main points about life boat sailing gear is to get 
something that will make up smooth, will not become balled 
up, and can easily be understood. 

Masts should be marked near the step with the letters FORE 
and AFT cut into the mast, so that it will not be stepped with the 
lead of shrouds and sheaves wrong. 

The sprit rig. This is a very handy rig for small boats. It 
has certain advantages in the way of spreading the sail, but is 











BOATS 


445 


Pendant 


not over handy in setting because of the shipping of the sprit. 
The advantages of the sprit are a very flat sail. The sprit takes 
all of the sag out of a sail and sets it like a board. The writer 
was fortunate enough to have a very 
fine gig rigged with two masted sprit 
sails. Being a whale boat with a six 
inch keel, very few boats, or yachts for 
that matter, could pass her. 

The sprit is supported on the mast by a 
strop called a “ snotter ”. This consists 
of a short rope with eyes spliced in each 
end. One end is passed around the 
mast and through the other eye, the 
heel of the sprit then rests in the hang¬ 
ing eye. The sail is then “ peaked ” 
by pushing up on the snotter, then sheet 
aft, after the head is up. 

With a heavy sprit rig a pennant and 
block are fitted to the mast head, and 
the heel of the sprit is stepped in an 
eye seized to a stout mast ring, the 
whole thing is lifted by a whip as shown 
in the drawing. 

When the snotter has a tendency to 
work down make it long enough to get 
a round turn about the mast. 

Sheet . Care should be taken to 
reeve the sheet properly. 

Booms. In life boats it is recom¬ 
mended to do away with booms as they 
add so much more to the complication. 

When a long passage must be made un¬ 
der sail booms can easily be improvised 
by using oars, lashing them together. 

Fore sail should be attached to fore mast, and both masts 
plainly marked. 

Sloop rig . This rig is handy for a special sailing boat and is 
given for reference. 

Schooner rig. Useful for a larger boat. Given for reference. 



.'Snotter 


Snotter with whip. 










446 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The cat rig. Mast stepped far forward with a single gaff and 
boom mainsail. 

The Falmouth lugger. A very handy little rig. Standing lug 
and mizzen. 

The sliding gunter. A good rig, handy, foolproof (almost). 



Sloop rig. 


Handling boats under sail. The successful boat sailor must, 
in a small way carry out the principles of handling larger craft 
under canvas. 

First. He must pay special attention to the weather. If about 
to leave the vessel for a sail, know what to expect. Give heed to 
storm warnings, find out what winds prevail, if in a foreign port, 
and if out in a small boat on the open sea watch the weather and 
note the wind and sea with the greatest care. Sailing ship men 
do this as a matter of habit. Steamship sailors are liable to be a 
trifle careless about the wind. 

Second. See all gear properly set up, shrouds taut, masts 
stepped and secured, and stayed, and all running gear rove 
properly, and in order. 

















BOATS 


447 


Third. Have boat in sailing trim, usually a few inches by the 
stern. Dispose weights in bottom of boat. Have all hands sit 
down preferably on bottom boards. 

Wind aft . This is a dangerous point of sailing in a rough sea 
and great care should be taken to watch the helm or any shift 
of wind, as the boat may yaw about. Many advocate run¬ 



ning off the course one side and then the other, somewhat 
after the manner of the historic zigzag of war time days, and 
nights. 

When going before the wind be on the lookout against gybing , 
that is the topping up of the main boom, the sail bellying forward 
of the mast, and the boom slapping up against it. 

Keep the weight well aft in running. 

Wing and wing. Boat running before the wind, fore and 
mainsails spread on opposite sides, the fore sail sheet held out 
with an oar or a boat hook. 

Running large. Sailing with wind free on either side. This 
is usually the best point of sailing of a ship’s boat, wind some¬ 
where on the quarter, and all drawing. 



















448 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Squalls . Heavy wind puffs under above conditions of sailing 
are best met by dropping the peak, or if no boom is fitted,by 
letting fly the sheets. This latter is to be done only in the event 
of a very bad squall. 

When sheets have been let fly cast off halyards and haul down 
at once. Never belay a sheet no matter how fine the weather 
may appear to be. 



Cat boat. 


Sailing on the wind. When the boat cannot make her course 
it becomes necessary to sail as close to the wind as possible, 
tacking by various stages in working to windward. 

In sailing close hauled , as it is called, do not trim sheets too 
flat, and trim the boat so that she will have a small tendency to 
come up into the wind, necessitating a small amount of weather 
helm. The sails should be kept full and by that is the forward 
cloths just about to tremble. In rough water give the boat a 
good full and she will go better and gain more than by pinching 
her into the wind. 














BOATS 


449 



When a boat or ship Sliding gunter. 

gets into the wind and 

will not go about she is said to be in irons. Box her around 
with the jib. 

Tacking a single sticker put down helm and go about. 

Wearing. If in a heavy sea and on the wind with a laden boat 
it may be necessary to wear , or to gybe, as it is called in a small 
boat. With considerable wind, brail up or lower the mainsail. 

Then put the helm up } her head falls away from the wind, 
ease the jib sheets, and the fore sheet, as the wind comes aft 
and shifts on the new eather side, haul over the main boom and 
sheet it aft to bring her up into the wind. Keep head sheets 
loose until wind is forward of beam then trim aft all sheets. 

With plenty of sea room wearing is the proper thing to do 
with a laden boat. 


Tacking (a two masted boat). Give boat a good full, get as 
much way on her as possible. Order the men standing by 
sheets, to be ready “ Ready about ” is the proper order. Then 

u Ease down the helm!” 

—“ Let fly fore and jib 
sheets! ” “ Haul main 

boom slowly amidships! ” 

As soon as the boat 
comes up into the eye of 
the wind, if she is slow, 
have the jib held out flat 
at a small angle with the 
keel, to windward. This 
will help turn her head 
around on the new tack. 

Do not hold out the jib 
like a bag. This only 
stops the way of the boat. 

If the boat should begin 
to make sternway. Shift 
over helm. 

As soon as she is 
around, “ Trim aft fore 
and jib sheets! ” and ease 
off main boom. 




450 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A good boat, in smooth water should sail to within five points 
of the wind. Yachts will go to four, square riggers to six. 

In sailing on the wind, the back draft of the fore, is liable to 
shake the luff of the mainsail. Where a jib is carried and 
trimmed flat, this is the best guide for a helmsman sitting well 
on the weather quarter of his boat. A small wind vane is very 
useful however and a strip of bunting at the main truck comes in 
very handy, especially in light winds. 



Squalls when on the wind. These are best met by putting 
down the helm and luffing up into the wind. Then sail can be 
shortened if desired. 

Reefing. Luff up into the wind, lower the yard (standing lug) 
gathering in the sail. Pass tack lashing, pass reef points 
around foot of sail, not around boom, hoist away. 

Reef foresail first, then main. 

If weather looks doubtful do not hesitate to reef in plenty of 
time. The reef can always be shaken out, but if you wait too 
long trouble may ensue. 

Conclusion. These notes on boat sailing have been made as 
brief as possible. No book can teach the art of sailing. It must 
be acquired by practice. The steamship officer should at least 
be required to sail an open boat. On the bridge at night the 
lights of a sailing craft will have a new meaning to him. Given 
the direction of the wind, and he will know within a few points 
















BOATS 


451 


of how she may be heading. He will also know just where she 
cannot sail and this will be a great help to him in avoiding her 
as he must, under the Rules of the Road, Article 20, keep out of 
the way of all sail vessels. 



When sailing keep every one seated. All gear clear for running. 

The following questions and answers from the Bluejacket's 
Manual of the U. S. Navy give the main points to be observed 
in bringing a boat under sail alongside of a gangway. Similar 
tactics will make a good landing at a wharf. 

Q. What precautions in coming alongside under sail? 

A. It requires care, judgment and experience. Never at¬ 
tempt to go alongside under sail if a boat or other obstruction 
that the mast could touch overhangs the gangway. Don’t go 
alongside under sail in rough weather when the rolling motion 
of the boat would cause the masts to strike the gangway plat¬ 
form. Under these circumstances unstep the masts and bring 
the boat alongside under oars. 

Q. What is the best method of coming alongside under sail 
when the ship is riding to a windward tide? 

A. Approach the gangway from abaft the beam. Tend all 
gear and shorten sail when boat has sufficient way to reach 




452 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


gangway. Bow and stroke oarsmen tend boat hooks, and other 
men perform their duties in shortening sail. 

Q. If the ship is riding to the wind? 

A. Approach gangway 
from about abeam. Tend 
all gear. Bow and stroke 
oarsmen stand by with 
boathooks. When there 
is enough way to make 
the gangway, command: 
“ In jib and foresail.” 
Let go jib tack and sheet; 
smother jib into fore¬ 
mast. Lower foresail or 
brail it up. At the same 
time put tiller hard 
down; haul main boom 
amidships or a bit on 
weather quarter. This 
throws the boat’s head 
into the wind; hauling 
the main boom to wind¬ 
ward deadens her head¬ 
way when desirable. 
When alongside com¬ 
mand “ In mainsail”; 
stow sails and unstep 
if desirable. This is 
the surest and safest 
method; but with skill 
in handling, all sails may 
be taken in together, the 
tiller put hard down, and the boat rounded up to gangway. This 
requires more skill and judgment. It should not ordinarily be 
attempted. 

Q. If there is any current, how make allowances for it? 

A. Head for a point further forward or aft as the case may be. 

In coming alongside of a wharf or jetty with the wind directly 
on to the landing. Get in sail in plenty of time and come in 
under a jib or luff into the wind and drift down, lowering sail in 
plenty of time. 



The sprit is a very handy rig. 






CHAPTER 14 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 

I 

Compass 

The compass, as everyone knows, dates back to the earliest 
times. The following interesting data on the invention of the 
compass and upon the origin of its cardinal divisions is taken, in 
part, from an article in Shipping of September, 1917. 

There is unquestionable evidence contained in a document 
of the year 1269 that at that time a pivoted compass was in use 
by navigators and a description of this instrument is contained 
in the 1 Epistola de Magnete,* of Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, 
written at Lucera and addressed to Sigerus de Fauconcourt. 
Several manuscripts of this remarkable treatise are in existence, 
notably at the Oxford Library. It seems that about 1450 some¬ 
one wrote that the compass had been invented at Amalfi by a 
certain Flavius and about a century later a so-called historian 
wrote that the name of that Flavius was Gioja. No evidence 
exists that Gioja ever lived, although he is supposed to have 
made such a portentous invention. Another superstition re¬ 
garding the compass is that which ascribes the discovery of the 
properties of the magnetic needle to the Chinese, European 
mariners being supposed to have acquired the compass from 
them through the Arabs. But this supposition entirely overlooks 
the fact that the existence of magnetism was known to Euro- 
, pean culture at the time of Aristotle and we have no means of 
ascertaining whether or not this knowledge was not made use 
of in practical navigation. The Chinese never shone as navi¬ 
gators, although they are supposed to have at one time journeyed 
by sea as far as the Persian Gulf. But their compass was a 
very crude affair, and although their method of suspending the 
needle made it more sensitive than the European, their compass 
card (divided in 24 points) was so defective that there is no 
reason to believe it could ever have been used by Europeans, 
for the reason that if there had existed at that time any inter¬ 
change of ideas between the West and the Far East the Chinese 
would not have clung so long to so crude a compass as they were 
using. On the other hand, Indians and Arabs as early as the 

453 


454 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



sixteenth century were using compasses of European make and 
there is no evidence that they ever used the Chinese card. 
Therefore the story of the compass being of Chinese origin must 
also be relegated to the junk pile of unfounded allegations. 
There is on the contrary every reason to suppose that the com¬ 
pass was but a natural evolution brought about by the combina¬ 
tion of the magnetic needle with the ‘ Rosa Ventorum,’ known 

to the Ancients. This 
‘ Rose of the Winds ’ is 
known to be much older 
than the compass. It goes 
back to the days of the 
Temple of the Winds at 
Athens, which was built 
by Andronicus Cyrrhes- 
tes. The Rose contained 
eight cardinal points di¬ 
viding the heavens accor¬ 
ding to the prevailing 
winds. These points were 
Tramontano, Greco, Le- 
vante, Scirocco, Ostro, 
Africo or Libeccio, Po- 
nento and Maestro. The 
north point was indicated 
by a broad arrowhead or 
spear, as well as by a T 
(initial of Tramontano). 
In time after the Rosa 
Ventorumhad been 
adapted to indicate the 
swing of the magnetic 
needle, the symbol used 
to designate the Tramon¬ 
tano evolved into a fleur- 
de-lys. This was about 
A modern binnacle. 1492. The Rosa Ven- 

torum also had a cross at 
the east and it is noteworthy that the compasses of British ships 
carried this cross until the eighteenth century. The subdivision 
of the Rosa Ventorum into 32 points, or rhumbs, is generally 
believed to have been the invention of Flemish mariners. It is 
certain that a compass divided substantially on modern lines was 
known to Chaucer about 1391. All the expressions used to de¬ 
note the accessories of the mariner’s compass denote the pre¬ 
dominance as mariners formerly held by the Southern races. 
Thus the word ‘ binnacle,’ used to describe the stand holding 





COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


455 


the compass, is a corruption of the word ‘ bittacle,’ which in 
turn was derived from the Portuguese ‘abitacolo,’ the house 
in which the compass was housed. Compasses improved very 
little in efficiency until the early part of the nineteenth century. 
So little reliance could be placed upon the compasses then in 
use that in 1820 Peter Barlow reported to the British Admiralty 
that half of the compasses used in British warships were mere 
lumber and only fit to be destroyed. He suggested instead of 
the prevailing method of single suspension, a pattern having 
four or five parallel straight strips of magnetized steel fixed under 
a card. This method was eventually adopted and remained 
the British Admiralty standard until the Thomson (Lord Kelvin) 
compass came out in 1876. 

The construction of the compass, in principle at least, is simple. 
A magnetized bar of steel, or iron, called the needle , is balanced 
on a pivot so that it will rotate freely in the horizontal plane, com¬ 
ing to rest in the line of the magnetic meridian at any particular 
place where it is free from other disturbances. On board ship 
the compass needle is deflected from the magnetic meridian by 
the unequal attraction of the surrounding iron and steel in the 
hull and fittings of the vessel. This deflection is called devi¬ 
ation. Compasses are adjusted , by placing certain magnets in 
such positions, about the needle, that they act in a direction 
opposite to and of equal force to the deflecting iron in the vessel. 
A perfectly adjusted compass would lie in the plane of the mag¬ 
netic meridian on all headings of the vessel. Such a compass 
would have no deviation. The subject of compass errors and 
their correction is one of navigation and is fully treated in the 
many excellent works on that subject. The seaman is con¬ 
cerned with the fact that there is such a thing as deviation , and 
should always take it into account in laying courses when piloting. 

In addition to deviation , the compass is generally pointing to 
one side or the other of true north by an angle known as the 
magnetic variation of the place* At different points on the 

* History furnishes some interesting instances of the early ignorance of 
the existence of magnetic variation. On September 13, 1492, consternation 
prevailed among the sailors on board Columbus’s ship, The Santa Maria , 
when it was noticed, for the first time, that the compass needle, instead of 
pointing a little East of the North Star, as it had done all along since their 
leaving European shores, though, to be sure, by a gradually diminishing 
amount, then pointed somewhat West of the North Star, and continued to 


456 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


earth’s surface, the needle, pointing roughly to the magnetic 
pole, which does not coincide with the true pole at the axis of 
the earth’s rotation, forms an angle with the true meridian. 
This angle is shown on sea charts by means of the compass rose 
and by lines of equal variation, for some certain year, together 
with a notation of the annual increase or decrease for that 
locality. 

By means of the deviation table, giving the deviation for all 
headings, and the variation taken from the chart and corrected, 
the compass error is found, and from this, the true bearing of 
an object, or the true course made by compass, can be obtained. 

The method of applying the error, of checking it by bearings 
of terrestrial or celestial objects and bodies, is part of the science 
of navigation—perhaps the most important part of navigation. 
Bowditch—The American Practical Navigator —explains the 
groundwork of these fascinating calculations. 

do so as the ship passed to the Westward. Columbus on his first voyage not 
only discovered a new world, but also an important scientific fact. Before 
that time the variation of the needle from the true North was considered due 
to the imperfection in the mechanical construction of the magnetic needles, 
and was not before recognized as a distinct error. Incidentally it may be 
stated that during this first voyage Columbus passed through one place, a 
little West of Fayal, in the Azores, where the needle pointed to the true North, 
and a few years later Sebastian Cabot observed another such place somewhat 
farther to the North, the observations of the two thus roughly locating for 
the first time an agonic line. 

The earliest observations on land of the fact that the magnetic needle does 
not point exactly “ true to the Pole ” appears to have been made by George 
Hartmann, a maker of compass sundials, who, in about the year 1570, found 
that at Rome the needle pointed 6 deg. East of true North. About 125 years 
later, after observations of the declination of the needle from the true North 
and South line began to multiply, it was found that at London between 1580, 
the date of the first declination observations at that place, and 1634 the 
needle had changed its direction of pointing from liy 2 deg. East to 4 deg. 
East, or a change to the Westward of 7 deg. Thus another important phe¬ 
nomenon was discovered, the cause of which remains without adequate 
solution up to the present time, though some of the best minds through the 
intervening years have studied it. This phenomenon is the so-called secular 
variation of the earth’s magnetism, by the action of which changes of varying 
magnitudes are continuously occurring in the distribution of the earth’s 
magnetism. The continual observation and study of these changes and the 
correction of magnetic charts, as, for example, the lines of equal magnetic 
variation supplied to navigators, follow as a consequence. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


457 


Having stated the fundamental errors of the compass, we can 
go a step further in elaborating upon its present design. 

The simple bar or needle has been superseded by swinging 
two or more needles, in parallel, on either side of the pivot. 
To the needles is attached the compass card carrying the divi¬ 
sions about which the seaman is most concerned. 

Dry compasses consist of a segmental circle of paper mounted 
on an aluminum ring, suspended from the central boss con¬ 
taining a jeweled cup by thirty-two silk threads. The needles 
suspended below the card, are single wires and depend from the 
card ring by a second series of silk threads. This brings the 
weight of the needles down low and makes the card very steady. 
The pivot supporting the jeweled cup held in the boss of the 
card, rises from the bottom of the compass bowl , and the bowl, 
in turn, is carried on a ring, ring and bowl supported by knife 
edge bearings placed at right angles to each other. These 
bearings are called gimbles; the ring is the gimble ring. 

The bearings on the bowl, resting on the ring, are fore and aft, 
those on the ring, resting on the binnacle (the compass box), 
are athwartship. So, no matter how the ship may heel or pitch, 
the compass pivot remains vertical and the compass card hori¬ 
zontal. 

In the dry compass the parts of the card are made as light as 
possible to avoid friction on the pivot. 

To dampen the oscillation of the bowl in a seaway, with vessel 
moving, a chamber in the bottom of the bowl is partly filled 
with a viscuous oil—a sort of sluggish friction brake. The 
action of this is self-evident. 

The Liquid Compass differs in construction. The needles are 
formed by bunching magnetized wires in the form of small 
cylinders, and the card, of metal, is carried by these bundles of 
magnets. The boss is carried by a central hub, also of metal, 
and also attached to the magnets. There are usually four 
bundles of magnets, two in each side of the pivot. This rather 
rigid and heavy arrangement is floated in a mixture of glycerine 
and water or of alcohol and water, or alcohol alone. Hollow air 
chambers in the hub supply buoyancy, the whole thing almost 
floats, so that the cup, under the center of the hub, bears down 
lightly upon the pivot rising from the bottom of the bowl. The 


458 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


bowl is covered with a heavy glass, all air is excluded, and the 
compass swings freely in the liquid. An expansion chamber 
provides for temperature changes. 

The liquid compass has reached a high state of perfection, 
and has many things in its favor. In the United States Navy 
all magnetic compasses are of the liquid type. 

The seaman should study the construction of his compasses; he 
should know how to adjust them. The binnacle should be kept 
locked and the key in charge of the master. When a compass is to 
be adjusted, under favorable conditions, the master, or navigator, 
must attend to it themselves, or the compass is placed in charge 
of a compass adjuster. The writer remembers, as a youngster, 
trying to read the Admiralty Manual on Compass Adjustment, 
a thick red book filled with a frightful amount of mathematics. 
Recently the following advice on compass adjustment printed in 
The Oracle of the Oriental Navigation Co. came to his attention 
and is given here because it states truths in such clear language 
that seamen who read it may profit by its simplicity. 

“ While the compass is a delicate instrument, and while it is 
well to have it attended to by an expert occasionally, there is a 
tendency among some officers to regard it as a mystery only to 
be approached by shore adjusters. This is undesirable both 
because it is unnecessary and because a good officer in training 
to command will naturally want to be master of his tools rather 
than afraid of them. 

“ Suppose you have taken an ore cargo in Rio, and your 
compass is out. Choose early morning or late evening on a clear 
day (the sun changes bearing too rapidly around mid-day), 
work out a table of azimuths for this time, or if you prefer plot 
three on co-ordinate paper and fair a curve through them. With 
your pelorus or with a shadow pin bring the sun on the correct 
azimuth for the time; the ship will then be heading north 
magnetic. Open your binnacle base and you will see two car¬ 
riers with magnetized wires in them whose ends are painted 
red and blue. Remove all those lying athwartship of the vessel. 
Your ship being on north magnetic for at least two minutes, 
note the compass. Place the wires in the thwartship carrier 
with red ends to same side of binnacle the 0° of compass points 
to—E, deviation, red ends to starboard;—W, red to port,— 
and run the carrier up until needle is amidships. If possible 
use enough wires so that carrier will be about half way up for 
this. Now steady in the same way on East Magnetic, and 
remove wires from the fore-and-aft carrier. Do the same as 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


459 


before: if E’ly deviation, put in wires red ends forward; Westerly, 
red ends aft. Bring 0° to lubber’s line by moving carrier. 

“ Now steady on N. E. Magnetic, slack up the nuts on the 
two soft iron spheres and move them equally in or out until the 
N. E. point coincides with the lubber’s line. Secure every¬ 
thing, and swing ship for residuals. Plot the remaining devi¬ 
ation and if you have done a good job it ought to be a smooth, 
wavy curve not over 3° out. 

“ Some time later, when in a seaway, note if the card swings 
badly with the roll of the ship. If so, remove the compass care¬ 
fully and in the center of the binnacle you will find a rod hanging 
by a chain. Pull this rod up enough to ‘ damp ’ the swings of 
the compass, but remember that too much will make your card 
sluggish in good weather. Incidentally this rod should be cap¬ 
sized in its tube whenever the magnetic equator is crossed. 

“ If your azimuths are correct and your helmsman is good, 
the whole job can be done in half an hour. Once you have done 
it and checked your work with a deviation table, you can laugh 
thereafter at the high-priced adjuster, and feel secure of your 
courses.” 

The writer of the above, Lieut.-Commander R. T. Merrill, 
an official of the Oriental Navigation Company, and a navy 
officer of wide experience, has summed up the final act of a 
rather complicated subject. Seamen are advised to study 
Lecky’s Wrinkles and to carefully con their Bowditch , before 
opening the door of the binnacle—also, there are many methods 
of carrying the magnets, but of course the resultant positions are 
similar to those described.* 

Having taken a rapid survey of the magnetic compass we will 
now get down to the seamanship end of the business, the use of 
the divisions on the card—alike for all compasses, in so far as 
the different systems are alike. 

First, outside of the card , and marked on the bowl, is the 

* It is considered preferable for a compass and correctors to remain in a 
compensating binnacle when the ship is to be laid up for several months. The 
effect of the compensation is to neutralize the effect of the iron of the ship, so 
that there should be less effect upon the compass than if the binnacle were 
not compensated. 

No effect should be produced on the quadrantal correctors if spherical in 
form and properly made. Should any effect occur, it can be at once detected 
by loosening the securing nuts of the quadrantal correctors and rotating each 
sphere half a turn, at the same time observing whether the compass is af¬ 
fected.—U. S. Hydrographic Office. 


460 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


lubber's line , a sharp black vertical mark in the true fore and 
aft line of the vessel. This indicates the ship’s head and the 
point where the lubber’s line cuts the rim of the compass card 
is the Compass heading at that particular time. 

No doubt in the very old days, when an ancient mariner 
cocked his weather eye at the north star, a point or two “ to 
windard o' the bowline," and told off the course, the lubber’s 
line, painted on the rim of that new-fangled contraption, the 
compass, was a truly contemptible thing only fit for weak-minded 
land lubbers. This, lubber’s line like a few hundred other old 
things still sticks with us at sea. 


II 

Boxing the Compass 

But the spirit of change is on us and many people finding it a 
slow process to learn to box the compass by points and quarter 
points, are clamoring for degrees . “ Throw overboard this 

old stuff ” they say “ and give us something easy and scientific." 
This seems to be the cry. In fact there is a great deal of change 
going on, even the old lubber’s line is being tampered with as 
we will see later on in dealing with the gyroscopic compass. 

But in adopting new things, in the matter of the sea, it is 
safer to first be certain that the old ones are really no longer of 
any use. Everything at sea is so different, so damned unnatural 
to a landsman, that some of the most natural things to a sailor, 
are looked down upon by lawyers, editors and the like, who have 
a genius for getting themselves into snug places of authority 
ashore. 

Let us examine the points of a compass. The compass card 
with its thirty-two points is divided as follows: 


Cardinal points North 
East 
South 
West 


Inter cardinal points North east 
South east 
South west 
North west 


<< 


Three name " points, North, 

north, east 

South 

south 

west 

East 

north east 

West 

south 

west 

East 

south east 

West 

north 

west 

South 

south east 

North 

north 

west 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


461 


“ By ” points North South east by east West by south 

by east South east by south West by north 

North east by north South by east North west by west 

North east by east South by west North west by north 

East by north South west by south North by west 

East by south South west by west 

These points, worked out by seamen through the ages, are 
not as they are without much logical reason behind it all. For a 
time we have had with us a school of men both in the govern¬ 
ment and merchant services who have taken a careless view of 
many fundamental matters connected with the sea. To most 
of these men the seaman, untaught so far as schooling within 
four steady walls is concerned, is looked upon as being some¬ 
what out of date. On the other hand, under sea conditions, 
methods that appear to be rough and ready are often the most 
valuable. 

Our writer in Shipping , of September, 1917, the article being 
unsigned, had something more to say about compasses that will 
bear repeating: 

“ Reference has been made to the elimination of cardinal 
points and their substitution by degree-subdivision. This latter 
method is undoubtedly more scientific, but it has the defect of 
giving no direct indication of relative direction. To seamen, a 
designation of 135 deg. for S. E., for instance, does not appear 
sufficiently plausible. Furthermore, the method of steering 
by degrees alone might psychologically, prove dangerous in the 
mercantile marine for certain reasons which we shall explain. 
The fundamental principle underlying point-division is based 
upon a fact peculiar to man’s naive method of thinking and 
reasoning. We naturally think of * dividing ’ as meaning exactly 
the same as ‘ halving.’ If a child is told to divide an apple 
among three persons, he will first halve it, and then halve one 
of the halves. And even after he has realized the fact that the 
three portions are unequal, his further efforts to render the 
division more equitable will, as a rule, result only in further 
halvings. And man, actuated by this same principle, when 
asked to determine in what direction the sun appears to be 
in the heavens, will first ascertain it to be, say, between S and E. 
Then he will consider whether it be nearer to S or nearer to E; 
in this way he establishes the position of SE. Then he will 
proceed to find out if it is nearer to SE or S, and will fix^SSE 





462 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


as a further point of departure; and so on. The division of the 
compass-card into points corresponds perfectly with the above- 
described mental process of obtaining subdivisions by con¬ 
tinued halvings. Its chief advantage is likewise in close relation 
thereto. This advantage consists in its extreme plausibility and 
the splendid view it gives of the system of directions. This 
view is rendered still more striking by means of graduated 
signatures, the main points looming up very conspicuously, while 
the auxiliary points grow less and less prominent in proportion 
to their relative degree of importance; all of which is requisite in 
practical seamanship, as, for example, steering by unstable card, 
or with poor light, or turning through certain desired angles, etc. 
To this we must add the close connection of this division with 
the importance which seamen attach to the traditional cardinal 
points, and to a nomenclature by which one can know at one e 
in which quadrant, and whereabouts in that quadrant, a given 
direction is to be looked for. The absence of just this direct 
indication is what practical seamen object to in the division of 
the compass into degrees, particularly the graduation from 0 deg. 
Merchant seamen have objected to degree-graduation because 
the helmsman cannot follow it and needs the guidance of point- 
division in order to keep his course. It must not be forgotten 
that the mariner refers to nearly all the occurrences relating to 
wind, weather, and navigation in terms of compass-points and 
the merchant navigator, in spite of what scientists may say, can¬ 
not do without the terms N, E, S, W, and desires, moreover, to 
see them represented in the compass. 

To box the compass the points are named in succession from 
North around to North, either way. Or from any other point 
and around. 

To box the compass by quarter points , the divisions are 
named progressively until we get to a “ by ” point running 
in the opposite direction. Then we start with three quarters 
and work down to one quarter. An inspection of the table will 
show how this is done. 

The pelorus or dumb compass is a compass card mounted at 
some convenient place and is used for taking bearings of objects 
when the compass itself cannot be employed. The pelorus is 
set to the course and the vessel held as steady as possible while 
taking these bearings. The pelorus is marked in points and in 
degrees. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


463 


Boxing by Points 

Boxing by x /.\ Points 

North 

N 1/4 E 

North by east 

Ni/ 2 E 

North north east 

N 3/4 E 

North east by north 

N by E 

North east 

N by E 1/4 E 

North east by east 

N by E y 2 E 

East north east 

N by E % E 

East by north 

N N E 

East 

N N E 1/4 E 

East by south 

N N E y 2 E 

East south east 

N N E y 4 E 

South east by east 

NEbyN 

South east 

N E % N 

South east by south 

N E y 2 N 

South south east 

N E 1/4 N 

South by east 

N E 

South 

N E 1/4 E 

South by west 

N E y 2 E 

South south west 

H E % E 

South west by south 

N E by E 

South west 

N E by E 1/4 E 

South west by west 

N E by E 1/2 E 

West south west 

N E by E % E 

West by south 

E N E 

West 

E N E 1/4 E 

West by north 

E N E 1/2 E 

West north west 

E N E 3/4 E 

North west by west 

E by N 

North west 

E3/ 4 N 

North west by north 

Ei/ 2 N 

North north west 

E Vi N 

North by west 

E, etc., etc. 

North 



III 


Relative Bearings 

Relative bearings are bearings with relation to the vessel and 
are most important in connection with maneuvering to avoid 


1 7 


464 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


collision. The relative direction of the wind, with reference to a 
sailing vessel, is most important particularly to the officer in 
charge of a steamer , who, under the rules of the road, must so 
handle his vessel as to keep clear of the sailer. 

A vessel is heading North and the wind is from the following 


points: 

Relative direction of wind with 
Wind respect to vessel 

North.Ahead 

N by E.One point on starboard bow 

NNE.Two points on starboard bow 

N E by N.Three points on starboard bow 

N E.Broad on starboard bow 

N E by E.Three points forward, starboard beam 

E N E.Two points forward, starboard beam 

E by N.One point forward, starboard beam 

E.Abeam 

E by S.One point abaft, starboard beam 

ESE.Two points abaft, starboard beam 

S E by E.Three points abaft, starboard beam 

S E.Broad off starboard quarter 

S E by S.Three points on starboard quarter 

SSE.Two points on starboard quarter 

S by E.One point on starboard quarter 

South.Astern 


And so on around the port side to north. 

Relative bearings of any object, vessel, lighthouse, etc., are 
also roughly located in the same way. Insist upon quick accur¬ 
ate bearings from lookouts when reporting. A lookout aloft will 
sing out* 

“Sail ho!” 

Officer: “ Where away? ” 

Lookout: “ Broad on port bow.” Etc. 

Too much emphasis cannot be placed on the importance of this 
subject of the compass and relative bearings. Know the 
compass —every sailor should have the compass engraved upon 
his brain, together with the action of the helm. Men who have 
many lives in their charge have special responsibilities. We all 
take the surgeon and his work very seriously. If he makes a 
mistake one person perishes. If the watch officer, on a liner, 
makes a mistake, a few hundred lives, at least, are liable to pay 
for his error. 

*A good plan, suggested by Capt. W. J. Bernard, is to mark the points from 
the bow on the rim of the crow’s nest to guide lookouts in reporting bearings 
accurately. & 



















COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


465 


A Few Compass Problems 

You are heading north. You sight a sail broad on your port 
quarter. How does she bear? Ans. S W. 

You are close hauled on the starboard tack (in a square rigger, 
sailing six points from the wind) heading North. You put your 
helm up and haul the wind one point abaft the weather beam. 
How will you be heading then? Ans. N W by N. 

A fore and after will lie (in theory at least) about four points 
from the wind. You are close hauled on the port tack, your 
schooner heading S W by S. What is the direction of the 
wind? Ans. s b y E - 

You go about. How will you be heading? Ans. S E by E. 

Endless problems can be stated for practice. Such problems 
are always coming up when vessels meet. The wide-awake 
officer of the watch will always work them out in his mind even 
when no apparent danger exists. 

We will state one more problem. 

You are on the bridge of a steamer at night, making fifteen 
knots to S S W (course 202.5 degrees). Your smoke is rolling 
ahead of you three points to port and about one half as fast as 
you are going through the water. Of course you have figured 
out the direction and force of the wind immediately upon taking 
over the watch. You have looked at the sea and have seen the 
white caps a point on your starboard quarter. You know the 
wind is blowing a fresh full sail breeze from North by East, 
about 5 to 6 by the Beaufort Scale. 

On the bridge there seems to be a pleasant light breeze three 
points on the starboard quarter. 

You suddenly catch a glimpse of green light in a fold of the 
smoke blowing off ahead on the lee bow. A large sailing ship 
is off somewhere on your port bow slamming along with all 
sail set, anywhere from ten to twelve knots through the water. 
She has the right of way. How may she be heading? 

Ans. You have seen her green light, broad on your port bow 
(S S E), therefore she may be running to S W, or going close 
hauled on starboard tack heading N W by W, or anywhere in 


466 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


between these points. That is, roughly, her possible heading 
under the conditions given is confined to the seven points of the 
compass indicated. Also she is certainly crossing your how . 
What would you do? 

Ans. Starboard helm at once and pass astern of her. 

Officers of sufficient training will have had many such problems 
come to them in the course of their experience. Often there is 



Outside circle the “ scientific ” compass card. Good for navigation; 
not much good for seamanship. 


no time to note bearings, call the captain, etc. The watch 
officer must act at once. 





COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


467 


But, to arrive at such decisions the watch officer must abso¬ 
lutely know his compass and how to work out relative bearings 
in his mind, seeing the possible direction of another craft quickly 
and correctly. Smoke rolling ahead has been the cause of many 
collisions. Some day the motor ship may do away with this. 

Compass Graduations by Degrees 

The method of graduation from North to East and West, 
ninety degrees each way, from South to East and West, ninety 
degrees each way, is well understood. The letters N, E, S, and 
W, and their combinations, must always be given. That is 
N E is N 45 degrees E. S W is S 45 degrees W. North, East, 
South and West are given direct without naming degrees. 

The approved method in the newer navigation is to divide the 
horizon into 360 degrees, with 0 at North and to name the 
directions right-handed, as follows: 


North. 0 degrees 

N E. 45 “ 

East. 90 “ 

SE.135 “ 

South.180 “ 

S W.225 “ 

West.270 “ 

N W.315 “ 


IV 

The Gyro Compass * 

The gyro compass has come to stay and seamen should have a 
better understanding of its many points. The following inter¬ 
esting and instructive data on the gyroscopic compass is con¬ 
tributed by Mr. C. D. Jobson of the Sperry Gyro Company. 

The gyro-compass obtains its directive force from the rotation 
of the earth, and always points to the true or geographic north. 

* The Sperry Gyro Company conducts a special school for those who are 
interested in the use and care of their compass, gyro stabilizers, etc. Address 
the Company at Manhattan Bridge Plaza, Brooklyn, N. Y. 












468 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


It has no variations and as magnetism does not effect it, it 
consequently has no deviation; therefore, as a compass, it is a 
valuable aid to navigation. 

A balanced rotating gyroscope with three degrees of freedom 
will always point in the same direction or will maintain its 
“ fixity of plane,” unless affected by an outside force. There¬ 
fore, if a gyroscope with three degrees of freedom has a weight 



hung from it, as the earth rotates the gyroscope points in the 
same direction holding the weight and relative to the earth 
this weight is raised and gravity immediately began to pull 
it down—this force of gravity exercises an outside force on 
the gyroscope and the resultant of the two forces will be the 
direction the gyroscope will travel. The action of gravity con- 

















































COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


469 


tinues until the weight comes to rest held by gravity, at which 
time the axis of the gyroscope will be parallel with and pointing 
to the geographic north and south and 'will be rotating in the 
same direction. In other words, a gyroscope with a weight hung 
on it will line itself up with the axis of the earth and rotate in the 
same direction as the earth and can consequently be used as a 


compass. 


First Successful Gyro Compass 


Elmer A. Sperry’s first compass was installed on the Princess 
Anne of the Old Dominion Line in 1911, and after very good 
success was removed and installed on the U. 

S. S. Delaware the same year. It proved so 
successful that the United States Navy im¬ 
mediately purchased ten compasses, and af¬ 
ter they were installed the entire United 
States Navy was equipped, and the British, 

French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Danish, 

Japanese, and other navies of the World im¬ 
mediately followed suit, and today there are 
over 1200 Sperry Gyro-Compasses in the 
naval service of the world. 

After the European War the demands for 
gyro-compasses in the navies having been Master gyr0 compass 
satisfied many ships of the Merchant Marine S f an ^ t Binnacle bowl 
are being equipped with the Sperry Gyro- lowered. Note — cor- 
Compass. Among them the Mauretania, rection dials. See 
Aquitania, Martha Washington, Bergens - P^ge 471. 



fjord, Panhandle State, etc., etc. 

The Sperry Gyro-Compass consists of the master compass, 
switchboard and repeater panel, motor generator, storage 
battery, steering repeater compass, bearing repeater compass 
and alarm bell. The motor generator is run from the ship’s 
electric supply and regenerates the proper voltage to run the 
gyroscopes in the master compass, same being controlled 
through the switchboard; the storage battery is used in an 
emergency to run the motor in case the ship’s supply fails. 
The steering and bearing repeater compasses are small electric 
compasses that are controlled by the master compass in the 
same manner that a master clock controls any number of repeater 




470 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


on the ship’s bridge and is used by helmsman to steer the proper 
courses. The bearing repeater is on the wing of the bridge and 
clocks. The steering repeater is installed at the steering wheel 
is used to take bearings, i.e., to obtain a bearing 
or the position of another ship, lighthouse, or in 
fact any object relative to the position of the ship 
taking the bearing. Also the position of the sun 
can be taken, and by the use of azimuth tables 
the true course can be found, which is a check on 
the compass. 

Messrs. Martienssen and Anschutz Kaempfe 
have invented a gyro-compass. This compass only 
has two degrees of freedom and is floated in mer¬ 
cury; also the gyroscopes run in a bowl of hydro¬ 
gen put in at a pressure. The use of this compass 
has been confined purely to German warships. 

The following data on the gyro compass is by Mr. 
Bradley Jones and is used here with his permission. 


Steering re- Latitude Error 

peater. Since the action of the gyroscope depends on 

the balance between two forces, one being the 
momentum of the gyroscope’s rotation and the other being the 
unbalancing caused by the earth’s rotation; any change in either 
of these will cause a change in the conditions of balance. The 
gyroscope’s speed being kept constant its momentum will remain 
unchanged. On the contrary the effect of the earth’s rotation 
varies with latitude. While the earth rotates at uniform speed, 
an object at the equator travels around at a speed of approxi¬ 
mately 25,000 miles in the 24 hours or a little more than 1,000 
miles per hour; while an object at say 60° lat. travels at only 
half that speed. This is due to travelling on a smaller diameter 
circle. Thus the conditions governing the precession of a wheel 
at the equator will not be the same at any other latitude. 

As there is a definite and constant relation between the 
compass reading at varying latitudes, it is easily possible to 
calculate a table of corrections which may be applied when the 
latitude is changed. Or the compass lubber-line may be 
adjusted, for an average latitude and any errors disregarded. 
A vessel plying between New York and England might be adjusted 
for 45° say and since at 35° the error would only be .5° W and 
at 55° only .6° E; it may be disregarded in most cases safely. 

If a vessel travels east or west it may be considered to be 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


471 


either aiding or decreasing the effect of the earths rotation. 
If it travels north or south; that is either as true directions or as 
components of direction, the balancing becomes further compli¬ 
cated by having to consider forces acting in three directions on 
the gyroscope system. Any error resulting from not properly 
compensating for this, is termed the ‘ north (or south) steaming 
error.’ In foreign makes, this is taken care of by a set of tables. 

In the American designed compass, while it is entirely 
possible to use tables to correct for these errors, provision is 
made for correcting both of these errors by shifting the lubber¬ 
line. Two graduated dials are set to correspond with the 
latitude, and speed respectively and these dials automatic¬ 
ally shift the lubber-line and compensate for the respective 
errors. It should be borne in mind that by this means the errors 
are not eliminated, as the axle of the gyroscope does not actu¬ 
ally point north and south, and while shifting the lubber-line 
so that it no longer coincides with the fore-and-aft line of the 
ship enables one to correctly interpret the ship’s course. In 
the ‘ repeaters ’ which automatically copy the action of the main 
or ‘ master ’ compass in various parts of the ship, by a simple 
arrangement it is feasible to have true directions shown. 

With the gyroscope there is of course, no troublesome 
swinging of the ship, to determine deviation. There is no 
need to determine the effect of the cargo on the compass needle 
for unlike the magnetic type it is unaffected by the nearness of 
iron or steel. It can easily be believed, as the makers claim, 
that the cost of the newer type is soon offset by saving in fuel 
and wages by steering straighter, truer courses. Perhaps even 
more important is the psychological effect, for with the manifold 
cares and anxieties incidental to their safely guiding their ship 
to its destination, what a relief it is to the navigators, no longer 
to be forced to depend on the magnetic needle with its variations 
and susceptibilities to error by any chance bit of iron or steel 
but to have for their use an instrument on whose readings they 
may always depend. 

V 

The Lead 

To ascertain the depth of water on entering or leaving a port, 
or in any case where there is supposed to be less than twenty 
fathoms, soundings are taken by the hand lead. A quarter¬ 
master being stationed in the lead chains for the purpose. Hand 
lead lines are marked as follows: 

At 2 fathoms from the lead, with 2 strips of leather. 

At 3 fathoms from the lead, with 3 strips of leather. 


472 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


At 5 fathoms from the lead, with a white cotton rag. 

At 7 fathoms from the lead, with a red woolen rag. 

At 10 fathoms from the lead, with leather, having a hole in it. 

At 13 fathoms from the lead, 
as at 3. 

At 15 fathoms from the lead, 
as at 5. 

At 17 fathoms from the lead, 
as at 7. 

At 20 fathoms from the lead, 
with 2 knots. 

At 25 fathoms from the lead, 
with one knot. 

At 30 fathoms from the lead, 
with three knots. 

At 35 fathoms from the lead, 
with one knot. 

At 40 fathoms from the lead, 
with four knots. And so on. 

These are known as the 
“ marks.” The numbers omit¬ 
ted, as 1,4, 6, 8, etc., are called 
the “ deeps,” and they are 
spoken of together as the 
“ marks and deeps of the lead 

Heaving the lead on the Schoolship li ne *” 

Newport. All lead lines should be 

marked when wet. 

Soundings by the hand-lead are taken while the vessel has 
headway on, the leadsman throwing the lead forward, and 
getting the depth as the vessel passes, while the line is nearly 
perpendicular. He communicates to the officer the soundings 
obtained, thus: 

If the depth corresponds with any of the marks, he calls, 
for instance “ By the mark 5! ” If the mark is a little below 
the surface, he calls, “ Mark under water 5/” If the depth is 
greater, or one half more than any of the marks, he calls, 
“ And a quarter ,” or “ And a half 5! ” If the depth is a 
quarter less, he calls, “ Quarter less 5/” If he judges by the 





COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


473 


distance between any two of the marks that the depth of water 
is 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, or 21 fathoms, he calls, “ By 
the deep 4” etc. 

On the hand-lead line there are nine “ marks ” and eleven 
“ deeps.” 

Soundings should be given in a sharp, clear and decided tone 
of voice. In steamers, this is certainly the best plan, for while 
the old-fashioned “ song ” is being drawled out, the vessel may 
run ashore. 

Hand leads generally weigh 7 or 14 lbs., though the following 
weights are also made, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 16 lbs. 

An expert leadsman will grasp the line about two fathoms 
from the end (a small wooden toggle is sometimes seized into 
the lay of the line) and by swinging it back and forth a few times, 
keeping the line taut as the lead rises horizontal, he will get it 
over his head, and with two full turns, will send the lead and 
line along at a tangent, parallel with the ships side and almost 
parallel with the water. The coiled line must run out of his 
other hand without kinks. As the lead plunges, he grasps the 
running line with the hand used in heaving, and pulls in rapidly, 
until he feels the lead on the bottom. When the line is up and 
down, he bends over, plumbs the lead on the bottom and get the 
feel , hard, sticky, etc., as he reads the sounding and sings out 
to the bridge. The lead is swung overhead in the opposite way 
in which a wheel would turn if going ahead. It is released at 
the bottom of the swing and shoots ahead close to the water. 
Only considerable practice will make a good leadsman. 

In coming into port do not expect good casts when the vessel 
is going above six or seven knots. Casts of eight to nine fathoms 
can then be made with reliability. When going faster the 
fourteen pound lead is used and an extra good leadsman is 
needed. 

The markings of all lead lines should be examined from time 
to time, the lines being measured when wet. Always have 
at least three lead lines and five or six leads ready at hand in the 
bridge chest. The white rags at five and fifteen fathoms should 
be white cotton bunting. The red rags at seven and seventeen 
fathoms should be red woolen rag. On a dark night the feel will 
give the mark; if the hands are too cold take the rag to the lips. 


474 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


American hemp, Italian hemp or braided cotton cord is gener¬ 
ally used for lead lines, though any pliable signal halyard stuff 
will do. A hand lead line is usually 60 fathoms in length. 

Too much care cannot be given to the position and fitting of 
the lead stands. These should be under or forward of the 
bridge on each side and far enough below the side light boxes 
so the lead will not strike them when swung overhead. Have a 
breast band fitted if the lead is to be used for any considerable 
time, and have the leadsmen protected from the wet with a 
tarpaulin apron. A second hand should stand by to haul in the 
line after each cast. Often a small snatch block is handy for 
this purpose. The leadsman if assisted will only have to coil 
his line for the next cast as it comes aboard. 

Heaving the lead is so important that practice at sea is desir¬ 
able. Where boys are carried they should be given regular 
practice in heaving, using a small canvas bag filled with water. 
This keeps them busy and does no harm if it flys over the rail, 
or comes down on their heads when they first try to swing it 
clear around. 

In taking the chains at night it is well to know the height of 
the rail above water, in calling the depths. Wherever possible 
have two men in the chains on both sides, check one against 
another. Left-handed leadsmen should be developed. 

The blue pigeon has kept many ships off the ground, and no 
modern device has yet been perfected that will take the place of 
its direct and reliable readings. No shipmaster should be at sea 
long without the certain knowledge that he has some able 
seamen in his crew who are dependable leadsmen. Remember 
a good leadsmen always calls out the character of the bottom, 
as hard, soft , sticky , etc., when he makes a cast; this informa¬ 
tion is of great value in coming to an anchorage. 

The coasting lead is a heavy lead used in depths of from 
twenty-five to one hundred fathoms. It weighs from twenty- 
five to fifty pounds and is cast by carrying the lead well forward, 
and passing the line along the rail aft. On a sailing ship the 
lead line may be carried around the stern, the lead cast from the 
lee bow, and the final depth taken on the weather quarter. 
The markings are 20 fathoms, fish line with 2 knots; 30 fathoms, 
fish line with 3 knots, etc. A line with one knot marks each 
5 fathoms between. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


475 


The deep sea lead ( dipsea lead) is seldom used. It weighs 
50 lbs.—the line is 120 fathoms or over. Markings same as 
coasting lead. 

All leads are hollowed on the bottom and are armed with 
tallow or soap to bring up specimens of the sea bottom. This is 
specially so of the leads used with the sounding machine where a 
line of deep soundings may be taken on approaching a coast in 
thick weather. Then the character of the bottom is of great 
help in determining the approximate position of the vessel. 

The Drift Lead. While at single anchor, it is good practice 
always to have a lead somewhat heavier than the hand-lead, 
say from fourteen to twenty pounds, over the side, and resting 
on the bottom, with a man to attend it. Of course, this is only 
necessary in a stiff breeze, or at night. By this you will have 
instant notice if the vessel drags her anchor. 

VI 

The Sounding Machine 

The sounding machine now generally used at sea was first 
developed by the late Lord Kelvin. The machine consists of the 
following parts: 

The frame carrying the drum upon which the sounding wire 
is wound. Handles are hinged to the journal of the drum and 
this in turn is controlled by a friction brake. When a sounding 
is to be taken the handles are thrown out, the lead is armed, a 
depth recording tube is placed in the brass holder, open end 
down y the lead is steadied over the stern, and the brake is 
released. As the lead plunges down, the vessel going ahead, a 
brass finger pin is held over the wire just forward of the roller 
of the after fair lead over which the wire runs. The feel of the 
wire, at the sudden slack when it strikes bottom, are attained 
by practice. Immediately after making bottom, the handles are 
wound in (this connects them) and the lead is brought back on 
board by means of the drum. A dial on the machine shows the 
actual amount of wire run out. Should the finger pin be lost a 
piece of wood will do just as well in feeling the run of the line. 
This method of feeling when bottom has been made is most 
important in getting good soundings and is only had by practice. 


476 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


It is a good plan to save the tubes taken with short casts and to 
use them for practice in deeper water whenever this may be 
necessary. The time taken up in practice will be well spent when 
casts have to be made at night coming on the coast during bad 
winter weather, with snow and sleet. At times like this only 
experienced men are worth anything at the sounding machine. 
The writer has seen the most remarkable soundings sent to the 
bridge by amateurs, a hundred fathoms and over with very 
little water under the ship. The machine is allowed to run out 
after the lead has struck bottom, and if the vessel is not going 
very fast the lead lies on the bottom, the sounding tube is hori¬ 
zontal and fills with water, recording great depths. It is a good 
practice to always have a responsible officer at the sounding 
machine when important casts are to be taken. In the old days 
in the American Line the junior officer of the watch had this job. 

Depth recording devices consist of some means to measure 
the pressure of the water when the lead is on the bottom. Know¬ 
ing the pressure, a scale can be prepared which will show the 
head of water, or the depth. The method in general use is to 
fit a glass tube, closed at the upper end, and to measure the 
distance the water is forced up into the tube against the air which 
is compressed above it. This measure is made in different ways. 
Tubes are coated on the inside with a chemical composition 
(chromate of silver). This is reddish, and the action of the salt 
water turns the coating white, giving a very satisfactory mark of 
the distance the water pressure has forced salt water into the 
tube.* The tubes are two feet long, the scale, a two-sided gradu¬ 
ated ruler, is calibrated to translate this distance into fathoms. 
As the depth increases the graduations become smaller and of 
course less accurate. 

Each cast uses up a tube, and to prevent this waste (?) tubes 
with the insido surface made opaque by grinding have been 
used. The rise of the water can readily be seen on the ground 
glass. The closed end of the tube can be opened and the tube 
dried out. As a practical matter, the ground glass tube is not 
an economy. Time is too valuable to be taken up in drying tubes, 
although a few such tubes for emergency use are advisable on 

* The mark should be sharp and perpendicular to the length of the tube. 
A sounding with a slanting mark should be regarded with suspicion. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


477 


board ship. The writer has examined different depth scales 
and care must be taken to have a scale that will read correctly 
with any particular tube. This is not always the case. Tubes 
must be accurately made and of exactly the same inside diameter 
throughout. 

The following practical and valuable notes on the degree of 
dependability and the use of sounding tubes are taken from 
reports of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. 

“ Although of undoubted value as a navigational instrument, 
the sounding tube is subject to certain defects which, operating 
singly or in combinations, may give results so misleading as to 
seriously endanger the vessel whose safety is entirely dependent 
upon an accurate knowledge of the depths. 

“ Efforts have been made from time to time by the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey to utilize tubes for surveying operations. The 
results obtained, however, have been so unsatisfactory that the 
general use of such tubes for surveying work has been dis¬ 
couraged. 

“ In practical tests, carefully made by surveying parties, 
where up-and-down casts of the lead were taken with tubes 
attached to the lead, errors in the tube amounting at times to 
as much as 25 per cent, of the actual depths have been noted. 
Errors of 10 to 12 per cent. of the actual depth were quite 
common. 

“ It is also worthy of note that in the great majority of cases 
the tubes gave depths greater than the true depths, which, in 
actual use in coastwise navigation, would usually have resulted 
in the conclusion that the ship was farther offshore than was 
really the case.” 


To Test a Sounding Machine 

“ Before undertaking the sounding necessary to make any 
particular landfall the vessel should be stopped for an up-and- 
down cast of the lead in order to test the accuracy under the 
prevailing conditions of the tubes which are to be used. For 
this purpose it is not necessary to get bottom; simply run out 
60 to 80 fathoms of wire and then see how closely the tubes regis¬ 
ter that amount. A number of tubes can be sent down at one 
time, and it is then possible to select one or two which register 
most nearly correct. 

“ It is well to keep a permanent record of the results of each 
tube tested. By so doing the navigator will soon obtain valuable 
information as to the performance of the various tubes and 
the degree to which they may be trusted. Such a record should, 


478 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


of course, take into account the various conditions affecting the 
result.” 

A “ Home Made ” Sounding Tube 

“ It is interesting to note that sounding tubes which give good 
results can readily be made from plain glass or metal tubes 
aboard ship—gauge glasses, for instance. One end of the tube 
is closed with a cork and sealing wax. A narrow strip of chart 
paper of uniform width, on which a line has been ruled with an 
indelible pencil, is inserted the entire length of the tube. The 
paper is held in place by bending the projecting lower end up¬ 
ward along the outside of the tube and securing it with a rubber 
band. The height in which the water rises in the tube will be 
indicated by the blurring of the pencil line. 

“ If the air column in the tube is 24 inches long, the sounding 
may be read from any scale graduated for tubes of that length. 
If of a different length, a special scale must be prepared; its 
graduations, compared to those of the 24-inch scale, will be pro¬ 
portional to the comparative lengths of the two tubes. 

“ If certain precautions are taken, these tubes will give results 
which compare favorably with commercial tubes. The paper 
should be inserted uniformly in the tube, and its upper end, or a 
mark from which the measurement is taken, should coincide 
with the top of the air column. Metal tubes have the advantage 
of uniform bore, but if metal tubes are used the paper, in order 
to insure uniformity, should be fastened at the upper end when 
that end is being sealed and then stretched lightly at the bottom. 
The depth should always be read from the dry portion of the 
paper, as the wet portion is subject to considerable change in 
length.” 

Depth recorders depending upon spring pressure working 
against a piston, are sometimes used. A marker rides on a scale 
and the readings are direct. Such devices are all right when 
handled by experts, but are liable to get out of order at sea. 

Other types of depth recorders trap the water at lowest depth 
and measure the sounding by the amount of water they bring up. 
Such instruments are far too complicated for use at sea. The 
chemically coated glass tube seems to be the best thing so far.* 

Sounding machines are generally placed aft, a few paces from 
the taffrail, the frame of the machine screwed to deck plates 

* “ Physical Laws Underlying The Scale Of A Sounding Tube,” by Walter 
D. Lambert, Geodetic Computer, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, goes into 
this matter very thoroughly. It is a very valuable forty-five page pamphlet. 
Price five cents. Sold by Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing 
Office, Washington, D. C. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


479 


fitted for its reception. When lying in port for any length of 
time it is well to unship the sounding machine and stow it 
in the after wheelhouse, getting it out when preparing for 
sea. 

Many sounding machines work from the bridge deck, the 
sounding wire leading out over the side through a swivel block 
carried on the end of a sounding spar. This should be at least 
three fathoms from the side of the vessel and fitted with a lift, 
and forward and after guys. The block is swiveled to a traveller 
and is hauled in and out along the spar so that the lead may be 
got at when hauled up. This arrangement has much to recom¬ 
mend it and enables the officer on the bridge to keep an eye on 
the casts without leaving his post. 

The following practical instructions for the sounding machine 
are general. Officers should study the particular machine on 
board and become familiar with all of its parts and their ope¬ 
ration. 

“ 1. The work of taking a cast is to be done by two men, 
under the superintendence of an officer. For brevity, the men 
will be referred to as brakesman and leadsman. The regular 
post of the brakesman is at the starboard side of the sounding 
machine. The regular post of the leadsman is beside the taffrail 
fair-lead. 

“ 2. The men go to their posts, and without further orders the 
brakesman puts on the two handles and fixes them securely 
by means of the screws. At the same time the leadsman sees 
that the lead is properly armed, and takes it along to the fair- 
lead. The officer examines the tube and places it in the guard- 
cylinder. 

“ 3. The brakesman standing on the starboard side of the 
machine sees that the arm is prevented from turning by 
means of the catch. He then takes hold of the handle and puts 
the brake on by turning the handle in the direction for winding 
in the wire. When the brake is sufficiently tightened, the 
brakesman calls out‘ brake on.* The leadsman then lets down 
the sinker without a jerk till it hangs upon the rope. The 
brakesman then, holding the handle in one hand, releases the 
arm and pays out by turning the handle until the link (con¬ 
necting the plaited rope to the wire) has passed over the fair- 
lead. The leadsman then calls out ‘on brake’; at which 
order, the brakesman engages the arm in the catch. The 
brakesman then reports ‘ brake on,’ and the leadsman allows 
the sinker to hang free. 





480 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



“ 4. The brakesman now, having seen that the index of the 
counter is at zero, takes the brass finger-pin, and holding it 
lightly by its handle, presses it against the wire and waits for the 

officer to give the order 
‘ let go.’ 

“ 5. The brakesman in¬ 
stantly turns his handle in 
the direction for paying out 
until the drum with wire 
rotates freely. While the 
wire is running out he 
holds the handle in one 
hand and the finger-pin 
pressing against the wire 
in the other hand. The 
brakesman watches the 
counter, and if the bottom 
has not been reached be¬ 
fore coming to 250, he com- 
mences to apply the brake 
as soon as he sees the in¬ 
dex of the counter at 250, 
so as to stop before 500 
is reached . As Soon as the 
brakesman feels the wire 
slacken, he at once begins 
turning the handle in the 
direction for hauling in, 
until the brake is tightened 
up and the egress of the 
wire stopped. He then re¬ 
leases the arm D and com¬ 
mences to wind in. 

“ 6. The leadsman winds 
with his left hand and 
guides the wire to the drum with a piece of waste canvas in his 
right hand. The brakesman, winding with both hands, watches 
the counter from time to time during the winding in, and when 
the link is 5 fathoms from the fair-lead, he calls out ‘ hand the 
lead.’ 

“ Note .—When the speed exceeds ten knots it is desirable 
to have another man to help in the winding. He is to stand 
looking aft, and to work with both his hands on the port handle, 
the leadsman working on the same handle with his left hand. 

“ 7. The leadsman instantly leaves the machine, goes to the 
taffrail, and steadies the link and cord by his hand as they 
come up, and guides the link over the fair-lead; while the 


The Hand sounding machine. 







COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


481 


brakesman continues slowly winding in until the link reaches the 
wire drum; and placing it properly on the wire drum he winds 
in one turn more; then, taking care that the link is a little 
above the middle of the after side of the drum, so that its weight 
may help to keep the wire stretched, he puts on the brake. 
Meantime the leadsman hauls by hand on the sinker. The 
leadsman then takes the lead on board, shows the tube to the 
officer, examines the arming for specimen of bottom, shows it 
to the officer, and prepares the arming for a fresh cast, and then 
goes forward to the machine and stands by for another sounding. 

“ 8. The reading on the counter shows approximately the 
number of fathoms of wire run out. This may be something 
more than twice the depth for speeds under 11 knots; or it 
may be almost as much as three and a half times the depth if 
the speed be 15 or 16 knots. The proportion of wire to depth 
differs not only with the speed of the ship, but also with the 
roughness of the sea and with the depth itself. 

“ Cautions and Explanations 

“ 9. The wire will break at a kink under a very moderate pull 
or a very slight jerk. Without a kink, and with proper care, the 
wire can scarcely be broken in practice with the machine. No 
wire should ever be lost in service, unless by some extremely rare 
accident, not foreseen, and therefore not provided against. 

“ 10. Absolute security against kinks would be had if the 
wire could be prevented from ever slacking. It does slacken 
somewhat the moment the lead touches the bottom, but not to a 
dangerous degree if the ship is going at anything more than 
5 knots, and if the brake is instantly applied, when, by the wire’s 
yielding to the brass pin, the commencement of slacking is 
shown. The brake should be instantly applied, so as to slow the 
motion of the wheel, but not with force enough to stop the wheel 
suddenly. There is much more danger of losing the wire 
through a kink in taking an up-and-down cast than in a flying 
cast with the ship running at 12 or 14 knots. Whenever a cast 
is taken at any speed less than 5 knots, it is advisable to manage 
the brake so as to moderate the speed of egress according to 
judgment, letting the wheel run around at something like three 
turns per second. If the ship’s speed is more than 5 knots, 
observe all the rules laid down in the instruction preceding. 

“ 11. When taking the last cast of a series of soundings, 
wipe off wire with a greasy rag as it comes in over the rail.” 

Soundings taken at random are of little value in fixing or 
checking position and may at times be misleading. In thick 
weather, when near or running close to the land, in shoal water, 




482 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


or in the vicinity of dangers, soundings should be taken con¬ 
tinuously and at regular intervals, and, with the character of the 
bottom, systematically recorded. An exact agreement with the 
soundings on the chart need not be expected, as there may be 
some little inaccuracies in reporting the depth on a ship moving 
with speed through the water, or the tide may cause a dis¬ 
crepancy, or the chart itself may lack perfection, but the sound¬ 
ings should agree in a general way and a marked departure from 
the characteristic bottom shown on the chart should lead the 
navigator to doubt his position and proceed with caution; espe¬ 
cially is this true if the water is more shoal than expected. By 
laying the soundings on tracing paper, according to the scale 
of the chart, along a line representing the track of the ship, and 
then moving the paper over the chart parallel with the course 
until the observed soundings agree with those on the chart, the 
ship’s position will, in general, be quite well determined. 

The value and importance of soundings, especially in thick or 
foggy weather, can best be shown by an example: In Lake 
Superior, on the steamboat course from Devils Island to Duluth, 
when 50 fathoms or more are obtained by sounding, the master 
knows at once that he is to the northward of his course, and, 
owing to strong local disturbance, liable to strand on the north 
shore. The value of this information can not be overestimated. 
Again, in approaching Boston, almost due north of Race Point 
and a little to the northward and eastward of Stellwagen Bank, 
a hole has been found of nearly 100 fathoms, the adjacent sound¬ 
ings being between 50 and 60 fathoms* This hole is so sudden 
and pronounced that it would be almost impossible to make a 
mistake about it, and in coming into Boston in thick weather 
makes a very good “ fix,” and is invariably looked for by cap¬ 
tains making this trip in foggy weather. 

Motor sounding machines have come into use, doing away 
with the labor of winding in the wire after each cast. The motor 
is carried in the base of the machine, all very compact and up to 
date. 

A suggestion. Why not mount the sounding machine in a 
small house, opening aft? Have a telephone to the bridge and 
take soundings in winter with a certain degree of comfort and 
regard for accuracy. A liner running on the American coast 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


483 


during a heavy snow storm would get better and more accurate 
soundings in this way. The house would also serve as a pro¬ 
tection for a valuable machine and for the stowage of logs, 
signal lights, etc. 

Something more . The sounding machine having actual 
physical contact with the bottom may soon be a thing of the past. 
The Pacific Marine Review of October, 1919, carries the descrip¬ 
tion of a device called the Marimeter, then being fitted to the 
S.S. Governor. Here is the description: 

“ The marimeter, sends a sound to the oceans bottom whence 
it is reflected and returns as an echo, the machine meanwhile 
recording the precise time of travel. From this the depth is 
easily calculated from the speed of a sound-wave in salt water. 
With the marimeter four soundings may be taken per minute, 
whereas the old methods require 10 to 20 minutes for each 
operation. The manufacturers assert that it is the greatest 
safeguard to shipping ever invented, with the single exception 
of wireless telegraphy. The marimeter was invented by Samuel 
Spitz of Oakland, Cal. The practical development and its appli¬ 
cation to marine soundings have been under the direction of 
John Eldridge. The first installation is now being made on the 
Pacific Steamship Company’s steamer Governor , while the 
vessel is in dry dock in Seattle. Says the writer: 

The principle upon which this ingenious device works is 
electricity controlled by sound vibration. A sound wave is sent 
out from the bottom of the vessel mechanically and the instant 
this sound is started it is picked up electrically and relayed to 
the recording instrument and the dial of the recording instru¬ 
ment begins to register. The sound wave travels to the bottom 
of the ocean and returns in the form of an echo, and this echo is 
also picked up by the diaphragm in the bottom of the boat and 
is also relayed by electricity to the recording instrument, causing 
the pointer to immediately stop. The depth will be shown in 
fathoms, and four soundings may be made per minute, all 
directly under the ship’s keel. 

Sound travels at practically a uniform rate in the water (about 
4000 feet a second). The depth is measured by accurately 
taking and recording mechanically the time for sound to travel 
down and back. This will show the actual depth under the keel 
of the boat.” 


484 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


If such a device can be perfected for general use at sea, a 
tremendous advance will have been made. The navigator will 
press a button, standing in the wheel house, and simply read off 
the depth on a beautiful white dial. 

VII 

The Submarine Sentry 

The submarine sentry is a sort of inverted kite resembling 
in shape a hod used for carrying bricks. It is fitted with a 
span and a trigger projecting downward which releases the 
span and the letting up of pressure on the towing wire sounds an 
alarm. The winch to which the sentry cable is wound carries a 
dial which shows the depth of the sentry at any partcular length 
of wire. This is a very useful contraption but is not so generally 
supplied to vessels as it should be. Vessels going foreign, or 
tramping into strange waters might well carry a sentry for use in 
threading through unchanted shoals and the like. Otherwise 
with the taffrail log trailing on one quarter and the sounding 
machine working from the other quarter there is little room 
left for the above device. Speed also is limited to about four¬ 
teen knots. 

VIII 
The Log 

The measurement of speed through the water is essentially 
an operation of seamanship, as much as the steering of the 
vessel. The recording of distance run and direction made good 
falls within the sphere of navigation, although it is seamanship 
applied to navigation. 

Perhaps the oldest method of measuring, or estimating, the 
speed of a vessel through the water is to observe the water 
rushing by and to note objects, such as weed, waves, etc. The 
practiced eye, accustomed to see from a certain position, will 
gauge speed with a remarkable degree of accuracy. In coming 
alongside of other vessels, entering harbor, docking, and in 
maneuvering to avoid collision at sea, this method of measuring 
speed comes to the fore. Under such circumstances no one 
thinks of consulting logs. Taffrail logs are generally hauled in 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


485 


by that time (in or near port), and all the faculties are concen¬ 
trated on the big job of handling the vessel itself. It is simply 
another instance of getting back to first principles. Where very 
slow movements of a ship are being made, as in docking, some 
masters turn a small stream of water overboard near the bridge, 
this instantly advises them of any change in speed or whether 
going ahead or astern. 

The dutchman’s log consisting of a chip, thrown overboard 
near the bow and drifting aft past certain marks on the rail, was 
a very practical means of measuring speed in the times of slow 
old tubs taking half a year or more to double the cape on the long 
passage to the East Indies. 




Chip log. A, with chip upright. B, plug jerked out of socket for hauling in. 


The chip log , still used on sailing craft, is a very accurate means 
of measuring speed up to say fifteen knots. It is a splendid 
check on the performance of the taffrail log or of some newer 
logs that record speed in miles per hour on a dial. When the 
chip log and line are properly marked, line wet in marking, and 
the sand glass has been compared with the chronometer and 
found to be accurate, the whole business is simple and certain. 

The apparatus consists of the chip y a quadrantal sector of 
wood, weighted with lead on its circular side and fitted with a 
bridle, and a socket and toggle. The toggle is held in the 
socket by friction and is released when a jerk is given the line 
on hauling in. The radius of the quadrant should be about six 
inches. 

The log-line is made of signal halyard stuff, 150 fathoms long. 
One end is secured to the chip and the other to a reel on which 






















486 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the line is wound. The line is marked at 15 fathoms from the 
chip end by a piece of bunting. This part of the line is called 
stray line. From this piece of bunting the line is marked at 
every 47 feet 3 inches by a piece of fish line held between the 
strands of the log-line, the line being marked by a knot in the 
fish line for every division (47 feet 3 inches) from the bunting. 
Thus at 94 feet 6 inches from the bunting the piece of fish line 
has two knots in it, etc. These main divisions, called knots , 
are further subdivided into five equal parts by pieces of white 
bunting between the strands to indicate two-tenths of a knot. 



Heaving old-fashioned chip log. 


The log-glass is a sand glass similar to an hour glass con¬ 
structed to run for 28 seconds. A 14-second glass is also used. 

Three men are needed to “ heave the log.” One heaves the 
chip-log and tends the log-line, one holds the reel, and one 
tends the log-glass. 

To find the speed by the chip-log, hold the reel well up by its 
handles and unwind some of the stray line. Insert the toggle 
in its socket and heave the chip overboard, allowing the line to 
run out freely. As the first piece of bunting, which marks the 
end of the stray line, passes over the taffrail call out “ turn ” 
and invert the log-glass sharply. Just as the last particle of 
sand passes from the top to the bottom of the glass call out 












COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


487 


“ mark ” and seize the log-line, which has been running out 
freely. The subidivisional mark which is now at the taffrail 
indicates the speed of the vessel in knots and tenths. For 
instance, if the cord having six knots is at the rail, the vessel 
is making six knots per hour. This can be demonstrated as 
follows: 

Principle of Construction. When the chip hits the water it 
ceases to partake of the motion of the ship and becomes station¬ 
ary in the water. Between the first mark and the interval of 
time is 28 seconds (the time it takes the sand to run from the 
top to the bottom of the glass). In this interval of time the 
vessel moves 6 times 47 feet 3 inches (as shown by the log-line). 
Now in feet 6 X 47.25 X 60 X 60 is the distance that the vessel 
28 

would move in one hour at the same rate. 


A 6 X 47.25 X 60 X 60 

Or--—— - 

28 X 6080 


6 knots per hour. 


The 28-second glass is used for low speeds. For speeds over 
6 knots a 14-second glass is used and the reading of the log¬ 
line is doubled. 

To haul in the line after a reading is obtained, give the line a 
sharp tug. This will release the toggle and the chip will lay 
flat on the surface and can be hauled in hand over hand and 
reeled up. 

Of course everyone knows that a knot is 6080 feet, and when 
we speak of a mile at sea we always mean a knot. The knot, 
mile, and minute of latitude (mean) are all the same, that is 
6080 feet in length.* 

Speed by revolutions. Many vessels gauge their speed by 
the revolutions of the propeller, or propellers, in the case of twin 
and triple screw craft. An accurate measure of the revolutions 

* In the United States the sea mile or nautical mile or knot, used for the 
measurement of distances in ocean navigation, has a length of 6,080.27 feet; 
in France, Germany, and Austria the nautical or sea mile has a length of 
6,076.23 feet; in England the nautical mile, corresponding to the “ Admiralty 
knot,” is 6,080 feet. The geographic mile, which is the length of one minute 
of longitude of the equator of the terrestrial spheroid, is 6,087.15 feet long. 
The statute mile, used principally in measurements on land, is 5,280 feet.— 
Questions and Answers, No. 1, U. S. Hydrographic Office. 




488 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


is kept by the counters, the pitch of the screws is known, that is 
we know the distance they would travel through a solid medium 
in one revolution, and the slip or the percentage the screw falls 
short of its theoretical advance is estimated. 

Given 

Pitch of screws 

Revolutions (total or per minute) 

Percentage of slip 

We can easily figure out speed and distance. Revolution 
speed tables are usually prepared for a vessel and the whole 
matter simmers down to guessing what the slip is under certain 
conditions. Wind, sea, draft, trim and condition of the bottom 
of the vessel all effect the amount of slip. If some accurate 
method of determining the exact slip were available, this method 
of measuring distance through the water would be ideal. 

Devices fitted for counting and recording the speed at which 
the shaft and propeller is turning are called tachometers. The 
recording dials on the bridge are most useful in indicating at 
once the changes in speed and direction of the engines and gives 
the master information he needs in maneuvering his vessel. 

One of the most practical devices giving visual indication of 
the direction and action of the engines is the McNab direction 
indicator, operated by a pneumatic pump, a positive means of 
keeping the bridge informed as to the action of the engines. 

The principle of pneumatic action is also used in the Cum- 
ming’s Log, where after every fifty revolutions of the propeller, 
a small valve at the engine room counter opens to the vacuum 
of the main condenser and actuates the counter on the bridge. 

The Navigator Log employs the well-known principle of the 
pitot tube. Here the difference in pressure on two sides of a 
diaphragm records the speed. The Sal Log is a similar device. 

The navigator log is a Swedish invention. The log is simple 
in operation. The business end of it protrudes vertically from 
the bottom of the vessel and consists of a hollow tube with two 
passages. Near the end of the tube are two holes, one facing the 
direction in which the ship is traveling, and the other opening 
on the side of the ship. A passage through which the water flows 
leads from each hole to the mechanism immediately inside the 
hull. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


489 


The hole facing towards the ships bows registers the water 
pressure produced by the speed of the vessel, while that on the 
side gauges the hydrostatic pressure, or that resulting from the 
draft of the ship. The pressures record themselves upon a 
membrane in an indicator located in the engine-room, which 
measures the difference between the speed and draft pressure 
of the vessel and thus determines her speed. From the engine- 
room indicator there is conveyed to a second indicator on the 
bridge by means of an electric current a registration of every 
knot traveled by the ship. The officer on duty is thus able to 
tell not only how fast his ship is traveling, but also the total 
number of knots the ship has traveled since the indicator was 
set. 

The log is said to begin to act as soon as the vessel is set in 
motion and to indicate with the greatest precision both the 
speed of the vessel, as well as the distance traveled. It further 
begins to register at very low speed (1 to l 1 /^ knots), and acts 
independently of all external conditions, such as changes of 
temperature, the draft of the vessel, the rolling and pitching of 
same, etc. 

The apparatus is well protected and easy to instal. When 
once in place it requires little attention. Nor does it call for 
frequent adjustments, refilling, winding, etc. 

The Nicholson log was another one of the pitot tube devices, 
but depended upon mechanical means for its readings. It is 
seldom used today. 

IX 

The Taffrail Log 

The taffrail log consists of a rotator trailing astern at the 
end of a length of log line (cotten plaited stuff) an indicator 
mounted on a pivoted fork resting on the taffrail. The rotation 
of the small screw or rotator is communicated to the recording 
device on the rail. It is a simple device, its operation can be 
readily seen from the bridge. The log line may become fouled 
and the log should be streamed on the side opposite from the 
ash ejector, as this will effect its readings. Gulf weed is a 
prolific source of trouble. The moment a change in distance is 
noted, at the hourly reading, the log should be hauled in and 


490 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


examined, unless the engine speed has been altered during the 
interval and accounts or it. A scrap of rag twined about the 



The Bliss Star taffrail log. 


line near the rotator or a bit of yarn or weed will generally be 
found. 

The speedier a vessel the longer the line will have to be. 
The log line for a vessel of 150 feet should not be less than 
200 feet. On fast craft longer lines are needed. The pitch of the 
rotor blades can easily be altered 
and care should be taken to put the 
log overboard and calibrate it over a 
measured distance in waters reason¬ 
ably free from current. 

At very slow speed the log is liable 
to lag and the rotor will hang down 
with the log line floating; unsatisfac¬ 
tory readings are generally the result. 
In a sailer it is well to use a Bliss 
taffrail log where slow speeds are 
frequent. 

Certain logs, such as the Walker 
Cherub, ring a bell at intervals. The Walker log does this each 
sixth of a knot. A handy table should be computed and hung 












COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


491 


in the wheelhouse so that the time interval between “ bells ” 
will give the rate of speed at a glance. 

This relation between speed and time can easily be plotted 
in the form of a curve and pasted to a card (varnished) to be 
hung in the wheelhouse. A 
stop watch is handy for mea¬ 
suring the interval of time. 

Most logs for the higher 
speeds are fitted with a fly 
wheel or governor, as the 
line is otherwise liable to be 
filled with turns, then speed 
up the recording clock and 
untwist itself, and again lie 
idle while the line accumu¬ 
lates another set of turns. 

The governor prevents this 
action and does much toward 
making the taffrail log fairly 
reliable. 

The log should always be 
streamed as soon as the pilot 
is dropped, or at least before 
taking the departure, so that 
it is working freely when the 
readings are taken. As soon 
as the vessel stops, no matter when or for how long, haul in the log. 
When the log is hauled in while the vessel .has way upon her, 
unhook the inboard end of the line and trail this over the opposite 
quarter while hauling in the rotator. Otherwise the hauling in 
of the rotator fills the log line with additional turns and makes 
it awkward to coil. When the rotator is on board haul in the 
free end and coil down. Always hang up the line to dry before 
stowing away, clean rotator and wipe off the log. 

For night reading an electric connection should be made near 
the log. A log dial made luminous would seem to be desirable. 

Some logs are streamed from a spar near the bridge wing. 

The harpoon log. This was a contraption towed astern and 
fitted with vanes revolving from its tail and connected to record- 



A. Recording dial. B. Rotator. C. 
Bunch of Gulf weed on line } D. This 
often happens and must be looked after 
when log slows up. 










492 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


ing mechanism in the log. To get the readings the “ harpoon ” 
was hauled in each watch. Now only an interesting relic. 


The Sperry Log and Shoal Water Alarm 
The sperry log consists of a rotator placed in 
a vertical tube projecting through the bottom 
skin of the vessel. Suitable valves are provided 
for the withdrawal of the tube. The action of 
the log is seen from the sketch. Water enters 
the vertical tube placed on or near the center line 
of the vessel and at the “ turning point ” of the 
length of hull. The small propeller records the 
passage of water through the tube and this, in 
turn, is measured by an electric counter and 
transmitted to the bridge. 

The shoal water alarm consists of an automatic 
comparison between the speed made by the log 
and the revolutions made by the propellers. As a 
vessel slows up in shoal water the speed of ship, 
for a given speed of propellers, decreases. This 
relation of propeller speed and ship speed is 
practically constant under all speeds in deep 
water. 

By means of cams, laid out to correspond to 
varying relations between speed and R.P.M. of 
propellers, two contacts are held at a certain dis¬ 
tance apart under normal deep water conditions. 

When the water shoals this ratio is changed, 
the contacts close, and an alarm bell rings. 

The dial diagrams are self explanatory. 

Like all things on board ship, the Sperry log must be taken 
care of and handled with intelligence in order to obtain reliable 
results. 



Sperry log 
rotator. 


X 


Piloting 

Piloting, and coming in with the land, is another part of sea¬ 
manship where the navigator and the sailor exercise their skill 
at the same time. No seaman will close in with a coast until 










COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


493 


he has informed himself fully as to the conditions prevailing. 
The sailing directions, the charts, the buoy and light lists, and 
the tide tables should be consulted and carefully digested, not 
by the master alone, but by one or more of the ship’s officers. 



It is well to talk over the situation and be certain that those who 
are to be in charge of the bridge are familiar with the conditions.* 
Where complete data is not available, the greatest care should 
be taken to get soundings, check all bearings, and see all marks 
laid down on the charts. Where buoys, other marks, kelp, etc., 
are met with that are not found on the chart proceed with caution. 

The greatest care should be taken in going into shallow 
waters for the first time. It is an excellent plan to proceed into 

* “ Officers spend much time in perfecting themselves in deep sea navi¬ 
gation where the ship is not endangered, but do not always acquire the maxi¬ 
mum knowledge available before piloting into port where the danger really 
exists.”—Lieut.-Commander R. R. Mann, U. S. Navy, in Proceedings , U. S. 
Naval Institute , Nov., 1919. 

















494 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


such waters near the low stage of the tide, except, of course 
where high tide is needed to get in over bars. 

Tidal currents are liable to take dangerous directions across 
channels, often depending upon the winds prevailing at any 
certain time, and great care should be exercised in going into 
such waters. An experienced lookout at the masthead (an 
officer) is often desirable when entering transparent water as 
in the tropics. Rocks and shoals can often be seen from aloft 
and reported in time. 

An international system of uniform buoyage has been pro¬ 
posed but that desirable condition is still to be achieved. The 
buoys of the United States are given here and other buoys sys¬ 
tems should be studied from the latest information when going 
foreign. See page 504. 

Undoubtedly the greatest proportion of accidents to vessels 
under way happen in pilot waters. The end of the voyage is a 
danger point and this fact should be constantly before the seaman 
who will find new conditions confronting him almost every time 
he makes port, no matter how often he may have entered any 
particular place. He should always know when he has left the 
high seas and is in inland waters. Here the Rules of the Road 
are modified in certain important ways (refer to Rules for U. S. 
Inland Waters) and the shipmaster should be certain that these 
modifications are understood. 

The chart . In approaching a harbor be careful to have a 
chart that is corrected as near to date as possible. Study the 
chart with the greatest care. It is well to consider a harbor 
by means of a small scale chart in order to get an idea of its 
general surroundings, then concentrate on the large scale chart. 
Study channels, bars, shoals, tides, currents, buoys, lights, 
anchorage, wharves, harbor regulations, wind conditions, etc. 
Work out all bearings and courses to be steered. Read all notes 
and directions even if a pilot is expected. 

XI 

Data on Charts 

The following information in regard to charts is adapted from 
the U. S. Hydrographic Bulletin No. 10. It is of the utmost 
importance to the seaman and should be thoroughly studied. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


495 


“ The charts in general use by navigators are constructed on 
the Mercator projection. All the meridians are parallel straight 
lines, and the degrees of longitude are all equal. Th M 
The parallels of latitude are at right angles to the . e erca or 
meridians, and the degrees of latitude increase c ar 
in length from the lowest to the highest parallel in the same 
proportion as the degrees of longitude decrease on the globe. 
The property which makes it so useful for purposes of navigation 
is that the track of a ship, as long as she steers the same true 
course, appears upon the chart as a straight line. 

“ The course is the direction in which the ship passes from 
one place to another, referred to the meridian which lies truly 
North and South, or to the position of the needle r 
of the compass by which the ship is steered; the °^ rses ™ e 
former is called the true course and the latter the an compass 
compass course. 

“ To find the course draw a straight line connecting the point 
of departure and the point of destination; transfer the direction 
of this line to the center of the nearest compass rose by means 
of a parallel ruler, and read the angle that this line makes with 
the true meridian upon the divisions of the compass rose. The 
course to be steered by compass is found by applying to the true 
course the value of the variation of the compass, as found from 
the lines of equal variation given on the chart, and then the 
value of the deviation of the compass which is due to the iron 
in the ship’s hull, and is different for different directions of the 
ship’s head. Thus, the true course between Chicago Light¬ 
house and Big Point Sable is N. 20° 30' E. or 20° 30', the mag¬ 
netic course is N. 18° 10' E. or 18° 10'; the mean variation 
being 2° 20' E., and the course to be steered by compass, assum¬ 
ing the deviation on the magnetic course N. 18° 10' E., to be 
5° W. is N. 23° 10' E., or 23° 10'. 

“ The latitude scales, which bound the charts on the east and 
west, are to be used for measuring distances between places. 
If the places are on the same meridian, their Measuring 
distance apart is most readily estimated by find- distances 
ing the difference of latitude in minutes. Dis¬ 
tances between points situated on lines that make an angle 
with the meridians may be measured by taking between the 
points of the dividers a small number of subdivisions near the 
middle latitude of the line to be measured, and stepping them 
off on that line. All distances measured by means of the lati¬ 
tude scale are in nautical miles which can be readily converted 
into statute miles by multiplying by 1.15. 

“ The value of a chart must manifestly depend upon the char¬ 
acter and accuracy of the survey on which it is Accu of a 
based, and the larger the scale of the chart the chart 
more important these become. 

18 


496 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ To judge of a survey, its source and date, which are gener¬ 
ally given in the title, are a good guide. Besides the changes 
that may have taken place since the date of the survey in waters 
where sand or mud prevails, the earlier surveys were mostly 
made under circumstances that precluded great accuracy of 
detail; until a plan founded on such a survey is tested it should 
be regarded with caution. It may indeed be said that, except 
in well-frequented harbors and their approaches, no surveys 
yet made have been so minute in their examination of the 
bottom as to make it certain that all dangers have been found. 
The fullness or scantiness of the soundings is another method 
of estimating the completeness of the survey, remembering, 
however, that the chart is not expected to show all soundings 
that were obtained. When the soundings are sparse or un¬ 
evenly distributed it may be taken for granted that the survey 
was not in great detail. 

“ Large or irregular blank spaces among soundings mean that 
no soundings were obtained in these spots. When the sur¬ 
rounding soundings are deep it may fairly be .. 
assumed that in the blanks the water is also ° un mgs 
deep; but when they are shallow, or it can be seen from the 
rest of the chart that reefs or banks are present, such blanks 
should be regarded with suspicion. This is especially the case 
in coral regions and off rocky coasts, and it should be remem¬ 
bered that in waters where rocks abound it is always possible 
that a survey, however complete and detailed, may have failed 
to find every small patch or pinnacle rock. 

“ A wide berth should therefore be given to every rocky shore 
or patch, and instead of considering a coast to be clear, the 
contrary should be assumed. 

“ Chart reading aims to give such explanation concerning the 
various symbols and standards as will establish easily remem¬ 
bered relations between these graphic repre- p . 
sentations and the physical features which they K * adin9 a 
represent. Briefly stated, the standards govern- chart 
ing charts are the following: 

“ The ‘ shore line ’ is the boundary between water and land 
at high water. This boundary is shown by a continuous line 
wherever data is sufficient to plot the same with any degree of 
accuracy; otherwise a dashed line is used, indicating 4 approx¬ 
imate ’ delineation. 

44 Vertical lettering is used for any feature dry at high water 
and not affected by the movement of the waters. 

44 Leaning lettering is used to describe such features as are 
parts of the hydrography. 

44 Very often, on smaller scale charts, a small reef can not be 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


497 


HI 


i ■ 

At ' ■■■'&' 

' ' V' 

^0^ 

Contours 


Sand Dunes 

Sana 






mjjfijij 

%* 


-or,. ■ -In. TT* 

Bluffs 

Rocky Ledges 

3^ 


Fresh Marsh 

s* w V V "*» 



Eel Grass 



Sj C' •£?' *0 

O 

djSg§gggr 


Salt Marsh Orchard Tide Rips 


Rock awash (at any stage 
of the tide)... 


* # 


Current, not tidal, velocity ? Un 
2 knots.-> 


Rock whose position is 
doubtful. 


•S P D 


Tidal 

Currents 


Flood, II knots J&to i- * . ^ubTfuL?. ““'T"’. * * E D 


Ebb, 3d hour 


Rock under water ... 4. 



0 

M 

g 

/-Of any kind (or for 
large vessels). 


0 


J§ 1 

c> 



A 

*)/?////" F 1 

3 

*■ For small vessels. 


t 

-H-+> 

m 

a 

0 

r Lighted. 

\i/ 

a.' 

A 

ijj? 

0 , 

5 

0) 

ffl 



Chart symbols. 










































498 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


distinguished from a small islet; the proper name for either 
migh t ^ ‘ Rock.’ Following the Reefs or Islands 

standard of lettering the feature in doubt is an 
islet if its name is in vertical letters, but is a reef if lettered in 
leaning characters. 

“ The general topography is indicated by hachures, contours, 
or sketch-contours. Hachures and sketch-contours indicate 
approximately the relative position of summits and valleys and 
degree of connecting slopes. Whenever the contours are based 
upon an accurate survey of altitudes, a note stating their value— 
contour interval—is found under the title of the chart. 

“ Symbols denoting vegetation have been designed to present 
pictorially the characteristics of the various kinds of growth. 
For example: The mangrove symbol consists of irregular ribs 
connected with each other and studded with leaves, because the 
mangrove branches take root upon touching the ground and 
thus form a chain of growth. 

“ The nature of the shore is indicated by various symbols, rows 
of fine dots denoting sandy beach; small circles denote gravel; 
irregular shapes denote bowlders. 

“ Cliffs are indicated by bands of irregular hachures. The 
symbol is not a 1 plan view,’ but rather a ‘ side elevation,’ and 
its extent is in proportion to the height of the cu „ s 
cliff, not to the plan. For example: A perpen- 37 
dicular cliff of 100 feet will be shown by a hachured band much 
wider than one representing a cliff of 15 feet with slope. Ac¬ 
cording to principles of ‘ plan ’ drawing the perpendicular cliff 
could be shown by one line only and could not be distinguished 
from the ordinary shore line. 

“ Houses , roads, railroads, trails, etc., are shown by symbols 
well known, and are frequently lettered by descriptive text or 
proper names. 

“ Numbers upon the land express the height, above high 
water, in feet. 

“ Lights are shown by heavy solid dots and their characters, 
z.e., distinctive features, are stated in full or abbreviated form; 
in the latter case an explanation of the abbrevi- Liqhts 
ations is given under the title of the chart. 

“ Soundings or depths are not under the rule of lettering; 
they might be found vertical, leaning, or both upon one chart 
so as to distinguish the data furnished by differ- zj iu1rnnrnhhll 
ent authorities. The U. S. Hydrographic Office 
shows the soundings by means of vertical block figures, con¬ 
sidered the clearest type. These figures denote fathoms or feet, 
always stated in the title of the chart. 

“ The extent of fairway and water areas restricting navigation 
to limited draft, is indicated by a system of lines, called ‘ fathom 



COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


499 



Gravel and Rocks 



Tidal Flats 



Cultivated 




»;** *i *• % i 
• *.?•*-* ♦** * * 

;**•>*.* **. : 

* . *'.**+* « 

- *+*■ „ =t* 


»** 

■* 


**U 


Grassland 


Pine 


Buoy of any kind (or Red Buoy) . 


Black 


Striped horizontally , 

Striped vertically.... 


Checkered 


Perch and Square. 


Perch and Bell. 


0 

♦ 

❖ 

<t> 


III 

mi 



Woods 



Coral Reefs 


*=* ^ /=\ ***k 


• • • • 


Whistling.. 

* • • • • 

<*> 

Bell. 

<>♦❖0 

* • • • ♦ 

Mooring Buoy. 

. o 

Spindle. 

.1 

Wreck Submerged .... 

•- H +- 

Wreck not submerged. 



Chart symbols 










































500 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


lines.’ They are lines connecting equal depths, generally 
showing the limits of areas of depth of 1 fathom, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 
multiples of 10 fathoms. The areas of 1, 2, and 3 fathoms are 
stippled so that they are covered by a tint which readily dis¬ 
tinguishes them from the deeper waters. The nature of the 
bottom is indicated by abbreviations, explained under the title 
of the chart. 

“ The depths are given for the time of low water, and the 
least depths of all obtained during the survey are selected, so 
that the hydrography is represented in its most unfavorable 
condition. Increases of depth at the various stages of tide can 
be ascertained and added to the figures upon the chart. 

“ Reefs, ledges, sunken rocks, rocks awash, and foul ground 
are marked by symbols. Discolored water, ripples, currents, 
and weeds are noted, by symbol or lettering. 

“ Aids to navigation are shown by symbols and by abbrevi¬ 
ations, or by as much descriptive text as the scale of the chart 
may admit. 

“ To render these symbols distinct it is necessary to greatly 
exaggerate these aids in size, as compared with the scale of the 
chart; therefore certain parts of the symbols have been agreed 
upon to indicate the exact position of such aids, as follows: 

“ The center of the base line of any symbol presenting a 
horizontal line, namely, mooring buoys, beacons. 

“ The solid black dot (light dot).at the mast of a lightvessel. 
When the lightvessel shows two masts and dots, the exact posi¬ 
tion lies halfway between the two light dots. 

“ All buoys , excepting mooring buoys, are shown by com¬ 
pressed diamond-shapes and a small open circle, denoting the 
anchor ring. This ring indicates the proper position. To avoid 
interference with other features upon the chart it is often found 
necessary to show the diamond-shape at various bearings to 
the anchor ring, so that at times the symbol might be upside 
down. Since the buoys are also shown with such superposed 
marks, as drums, cones, and balls, attention should be given to 
the fact that the anchor ring does not touch the diamond-shape, 
while the distinguishing marks are joined to the top of the buoy- 
symbol. For example: Numerous soundings close together 
might compel the buoy to be shown so that the top of the symbol 
bears in the opposite direction from the actual position; the 
isolated ring is the ‘ position ’ part of the symbol, the opposite 
ring (connected with the buoy by a staff) is the distinctive mark. 

“ The buoy symbol is shown ‘ open ’—in outline—for buoys 
of any color other than black; black buoys are shown by ‘ solid * 
shape. If the buoy system shown upon the chart consists of the 
black and one other color only, the explanation under the title 
will ascribe such color to the ‘ open ’ symbol. Thus upon one 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


501 


chart it may be found to denote 1 red buoy * while upon another 
chart it may be stated as ‘ white * or ‘ green;* the meaning of 
the ‘ open ’ symbol varies , the meaning of the ‘ solid * symbol 
is always the same—‘ black.* 

“ Upon any chart containing buoys of various colors besides 
black the color will be found stated by abbreviation or in full 
alongside each symbol. 

“ The buoy symbol, surmounted by a small dot surrounded 
by rays, denotes a ‘ lighted * buoy; surmounted by a crescent 
(points downward) denotes a ‘whistling* buoy; surmounted 
by a half disk with dot above the same denotes a ‘ bell * buoy. 

“ A line drawn between the upper and lower points of the 
diamond-shape (longer axis) denotes ‘ vertical stripes; * a line 
drawn between the side points (shorter axis) denotes ‘ hori¬ 
zontal stripes; * both lines drawn denote ‘ checkered * buoy. 

“ Ranges are shown by lines of dashes and by continuous 
lines, the latter are only shown as far as a ship may follow the 
range in safety. The bearings are given as New melhods 

* true * and are expressed, upon later charts, in 

degrees of a protractor divided into 360, starting at North and 
following the hands of a clock. Older charts, still giving bear¬ 
ings by easterly or westerly deviations from North or South, are 
being corrected in this respect as rapidly as the facilities of the 
Hydrographic Office permit. For example: ‘ N. 15° E.* be¬ 
comes simply ‘ 15°,* ‘ S. 15° E.* becomes ‘ 165°,* ‘ S. 15° W.* 
becomes ‘ 195°,* etc. 

“ The compasses upon the charts are divided in accord with 
this new system. The outer rose, divided into degrees, is the 

* true * compass, the inner rose, divided into quarter points is, 
the ‘ magnetic,* and set upon the variation for the epoch stated 
in the central legend. 

“ Upon charts of small scale and greater territory, coast 
charts, and ocean charts, ‘ variation lines * are 
given because the magnetic conditions differ Magnetic 
greatly in the various localities represented upon variation 
one chart. 

“ The ‘ variation lines * are lines connecting such localities 
as show the same amount of variation of a magnetic needle from 
the true meridian. The amount of this variation is stated on 
each, or on every fifth line. 

“ The Variation Chart of the World , No. 2406, shows these 
lines for every full degree of variation; W. denotes westerly 
variation—z.e., the magnetic needle points westward of the 
true meridian. E. denotes easterly variation. All W. lines 
are continuous lines; all E. lines are composed of dashes. In 
the absence of any other source for obtaining the ‘ variations,* 
the ship*s position can be plotted upon this Chart of the World 




502 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


and the amount of variation can be ascertained to sufficiently 
accurate degree from the nearest variation line. 

“ The magnetic variation of the compass from the true meri¬ 
dian does not remain the same, but changes slightly or con¬ 
siderably in any locality. The movement of the north end of 
the magnetic needle is to eastward or to westward and the 
amount of this movement is expressed as ‘ annual change.’ 
An eastward change decreases westerly variation and increases 
easterly variation; a westward change increases westerly and 
decreases easterly variation. Figures in parentheses on the 
chart represent the ‘ rate ’ or annual change in the variation of 
the compass, the plus sign indicating a yearly increase and the 
minus sign a yearly decrease in the value of the variation for the 
locality so designated. When using the chart at a time not 
within the epoch 1915 (for which year the Variation Chart 
was compiled) it will be necessary to apply the annual rate of 
change. 

“For example , a mariner uses this chart in 1917; his posi¬ 
tion is spotted halfway between 5° W. and 6° W. variation lines, 
giving 5° 30' W. variation for 1915. He then finds that the posi¬ 
tion falls near (plus 2'), showing an annual westward movement 
of the needle. Thus the needle will point 4' farther to the left 
in 1917 than shown for 1915, increasing the variation from 5° 30' 
W. to 5° 34' W. 

“To avoid confusion and obviate the errors often made in 
connection with the use of variation lines the following sum¬ 
mary should be firmly impressed upon the Caution 

“The lines or curves simply connect equal values; they do 
not represent by their direction the direction or pointing of the 
needle. Along a line which runs northwestward upon the 
chart the variation might be easterly. By coincidence only may 
the direction of the line and the bearing of the magnetic north 
be the same. 

“ The value of ‘ variation ’ is the amount of arc separating 
the true north and the magnetic north. 

“ The value of ‘ rate ’ is the amount of arc covered by the 
change in the pointing of a magnetic needle in one year’s time; 
thus, along a ‘ rate ’ curve running in a northeasterly direction 
upon the chart the compass needle may steadily have a west¬ 
ward movement. 

“ Fathom curves a caution .—Except in plans of harbors that 
have been surveyed in detail, the 5-fathom curve on most charts 
may be considered as a danger line, or caution against unneces¬ 
sarily approaching the shore or bank within that line on account 
of the possible existence of undiscovered inequalities of the 
bottom, which only an elaborate detailed survey could reveal. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


503 


In general surveys of coasts or of little-frequented anchorages 
the necessities of navigation do not demand the great expenditure 
of time required for so detailed a survey. It is not contem¬ 
plated that ships will approach the shores in such localities with¬ 
out taking special precautions. 

“ The 10-fathom curves on rocky shores is another warning, 
especially for ships of heavy draft. 

“ A useful danger line will be obtained by tracing out with a 
colored pencil or ink the line of depth next greater than the draft 
of the ship using the chart. For vessels drawing less than 18 feet 
the edge of the sanding serves as a well-marked danger line. 

“ Charts on which no fathom curves are marked must espe¬ 
cially be regarded with caution, as indicating that soundings 
were too scanty and the bottom too uneven to enable the lines ot 
be drawn with accuracy. 

“ Isolated soundings, shoaler than surrounding depths, should 
always be avoided, especially if ringed around, as it is doubtful 
how closely the spot may have been examined and whether the 
least depth has been found. 

“ The chart on largest scale should always be used on account 
of its greater detail and the greater accuracy with which positions 
may be plotted on it. 

“ Caution in using small-scale charts. —In approaching the 
land or dangerous banks regard must always be had to the scale 
of the chart used. A small error in laying down a position means 
only yards on a large-scale chart, whereas on one of small scale 
the same amount of displacement means a large fraction of a 
mile. 

“ Distortion of printed charts .—The paper on which charts 
are printed has to be damped. On drying distortion takes place 
from the inequalities of the paper, which greatly varies with 
different paper and the amount of original damping, but it does 
not affect navigation. It must not, however, be expected that 
accurate series of angles taken to different points will always 
exactly agree when carefully plotted on the chart, especially if 
the lines to objects be long. . 

“ Notes on charts. —The source of a chart and the authority 
upon which it is based should be considered. The mariner will 
naturally feel the greatest confidence in a chart issued by the 
Government of one of the more important martime nations which 
maintain a well equipped office for the especial purpose of ac¬ 
quiring and treating hydrographic information.. He should be 
especially careful that the chart is of recent issue and bears 
corrections of a recent date—facts that should be clearly shown 
on the face of the chart. Notes on charts should always be read 
with care, as they may give important information that can not 
be graphically represented.” 


504 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 





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C OMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


505 


XII 

Buoys 

While buoys are valuable aids, the mariner should always 
employ a certain amount of caution in being guided by them. 
It is manifestly impossible to rely on buoys always maintaining 
their exact position, or, indeed, of finding them at all. Heavy 
seas, strong currents, ice, or collisions with passing vessels may 
drag them from their positions or cause them to disappear 
entirely, and they are especially uncertain in unfrequented waters, 
or those of nations who do not keep a good lookout on their aids 
to navigation. Buoys should therefore be regarded as warnings 
and not as infallible navigation marks, especially when in ex¬ 
posed places; and a ship’s position should always, when possible, 
be checked by bearings or angles of fixed objects on shore. 
The lights shown by gas buoys can not be implicitly relied upon; 
the light may be altogether extinguished, or, if intermittent, the 
apparatus may get out of order. 

Whistling and hell buoys are sounded only by the action of 
the sea; therefore, in calm weather they are less effective or 
may not sound. 

The U. S. System of Buoyage 

In conformity with section 4678 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, the following order is observed in coloring and 
numbering the buoys along the coasts, or in bays, harbors, 
sounds, or channels,viz.: 

1. In approaching the channel, etc., from seaward, red buoys 
with even numbers , will be found on the starboard or right side 
of the channel. 

2. In approaching the channel from seaward, black buoys with 
odd numbers , will be found on the port or left side of thechannel. 

3. Buoys painted with red and black horizontal stripes will be 
found on obstructions , with channel ways on either side of them. 

4. Buoys painted white and black perpendicular stripes will 
be found in mid-channel , and must be passed close-to. 

All other distinguishing marks to buoys will be in addition to 
the foregoing, and may be employed to mark particular spots, 
a description of which will be given in the printed list of buoys. 

Perches with balls, cages, etc., will, when placed on buoys, be 


506 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


at turning points, the color and number indicating on which side 
they shall be passed. 

Nun buoys, properly colored and numbered, are usually 
placed on the starboard side, and can buoys on the port side of 
channels. 

Day beacons, stakes and spindles (except such as are on the 
sides of channels, which will be colored like buoys) are con¬ 
structed and distinguished with special reference to each locality, 
and particularly in regard to the background upon which they 
are projected. 

Mooring a boat, raft, or vessel of any kind to any buoy, beacon, 
or floating guide in the waters of the States of New York and 
Connecticut is punishable by heavy fines, and in waters of the 
State of New Jersey by fines or imprisonment; excepting when 
necessary to save lives. The removal, damage or destruction 
of any buoy or beacon is punishable by still heavier penalties. 

“ Lighthouse tenders when working on buoys in channels or 
other frequented waters may display a red flag (international 
signal-code letter ‘ B ’) and a black ball at the fore, as a warning 
to other vessels to slow down in passing.” 

The foregoing regulation has been approved by the War 
Department and the Steamboat-inspection Service; passing 
vessels will facilitate the work of the Lighthouse Service by a 
proper observance of the signals. 

Lights .—Before coming within range of a light the navi¬ 
gator should acquaint himself with its characteristics, so that 
when the light is sighted it will be recognized. The charts, 
sailing directions, and light lists give information as to the color, 
character, and range of visibility of the various lights. Care 
should be taken to note all of these and compare them when the 
light is seen. If the light is of the flashing, revolving, or inter¬ 
mittent variety, the duration of its period should be noted to 
identify it. If a fixed light, a method that may be employed to 
make sure that it is not a vessePs light is to descend several 
feet immediately after sighting it and observe if it disappears 
from view. A navigation light will usually do so while a vessePs 
light will not. The reason for this is that navigation lights are, 
as a rule, sufficiently powerful to be seen at the farthest point 
to which the ray can reach without being interrupted by the 
earth’s curvature; they are therefore seen the moment the ray 
reaches the observer’s eye on deck, but are cut off if the light is 
lowered. A vessePs light, on the other hand, is of limited in¬ 
tensity and does not carry beyond a point within which it is 
visible at all heights. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


507 


Care must be taken to avoid being deceived on first sighting 
a light. The glare of a powerful light is often seen beyond the 
distance of visibility of its direct rays by the r . 
reflection downward from particles of mist in the Lautlon 
air. The same mist may cause a white light to have a reddish 
tinge, or it may obscure a light except within short distances. 
A fixed light when first picked up may appear flashing, as it is 
seen on the crest of a wave and lost in the hollow. 

Some lights are made to show different colors in different 
sectors within their range. In such lights one color is generally 
used on bearings whence the approach is clear and another 
covers areas where dangers are to be found. By consulting the 
chart or books the explanation of the color of the ray in which 
you find yourself is found. 

When looking for a light, the fact must not be forgotten 
that aloft the range of vision is increased. By noting a star 
immediately over the light a good bearing may be obtained by 
pelorus or compass. All the distances given in the light lists 
and on the charts for visibility of lights are calculated for a 
height of 15 feet for the observer’s eye. For a greater or less 
height of eye the table of distances of visibility due to the 
height published in the light list should be consulted. To 
obtain the distance of visibility take the square root of the 
height in feet of the light and multiply by 1.15, which will give 
the distance in miles the light can be seen at the sea level; add 
to this the square root of the height in feet of your own eye above 
the sea level multiplied by 1.15 and you will have the distance 
in miles the light will be visible to you. 

The intrinsic power of a light should always be considered 
when expecting to make it in thick weather. A weak light is 
easily obscured by haze and no dependence can be placed on 
its being seen.” 

XIII 

Data on Lighthouses 

Lighthouses, since the time of the Egyptian Pharos,* have 
been a symbol of^civilization. No land is wholly bad where sea- 
coast lights are religiously maintained—the altar lights of 
integrity burning before the sacrament of commerce. 

It is astonishing how little most seamen know about the great 
lighthouses of our coasts. The following data on lighthouses 
is taken from Government reports. 

* The first lighthouse of which we have authentic record is the great 
Pharos of Alexandria. This famous light of the ancients, built about 258 
B. C., was a huge tower of solid masonry on which a large bonfire was main¬ 
tained nightly. 


508 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Illuminating apparatus consists of a source of light placed 
in an optical apparatus. Usually, for the purpose of concen¬ 
trating the light and directing it toward the horizon or in hori¬ 
zontal beams to sweep the horizon, there is an arrangement of 
lenses, prisms, and reflectors in various combinations. The 
lenses act as refractors of the light, and the prisms may act as 
refractors or reflectors, or both. The system of reflectors is 
named catoptric , of refractors diop trie , and the combination of 
the two catadioptric. 

To vary the characteristics of lights there are flashing and 
occulting mechanisms by which lens panels or screens are 
revolved, or the light is periodically obscured by shutters, or 
in the case of gas or electric lights the supply of gas or current 
is cut off. Lights are also distinguished by the number of lights 
or by showing either a fixed color over definite areas, or a colored 
flash, this being effected by the use of colored glass. The 
source of light for the greater number of lights is a special form 
of kerosene oil wick lamp, but in recent years other more power¬ 
ful lamps and illuminants have been introduced; the oil-vapor 
lamp burning vaporized kerosene oil under an incandescent 
mantle gives a much more powerful light; oil gas is extensively 
used, particularly for lighted buoys; acetylene gas is used for 
lighted buoys and unattended lighted beacons; electric arc 
lights, electric incandescent lights, and coal-gas lights are used 
in special instances. 

Lights are classed and names printed as follows: 

“ PRIMARY SEACOAST LIGHTS. 

“ Secondary Lights. 

“ River, Harbor, and Other Lights. 

“LIGHT VESSELS. 

“ Other Floating Lights. 

Unwatched lights. — 1 U 9 after the name of a light on the 
Light List or chart indicates that the light is unwatched. In 
addition, all gas buoys are unwatched. Gas buoys can not be 
implicitly relied upon, as they may become extinguished or, if 
intermittent, the apparatus may get out of order and some time 
may elapse before they can be reached to repair or relight. 
The same is true in a less degree of unwatched lights on fixed 
structures. 

Too much reliance must not be placed on lighted buoys 
maintaining their exact positions; it is safer, when possible, 
to navigate by bearings or angles to fixed objects on shore, and 
by the use of soundings. 

The characteristics of the lights are indicated in the light 
list by abbreviations, as follows: 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


509 


Lights Which Do Not 
Change Color 


Characteristic Phases 


Lights Which Do Change 
Color. (Showing Alter¬ 
nately White and Red 
in Various Combinations) 


F. = Fixed 
FI. = Flashing 


F. FI. = Fixed and flash¬ 
ing. 


Gp. FI. = Group flashing 


A continuous steady light... 
(a) Showing a single flash at 
regular intervals. 

(h) A steady light with total 
eclipses. 

A fixed light varied at regu¬ 
lar intervals by one or 
more flashes, usually of 
greater brilliance. A flash 
is preceded and followed 
by a diminution of light or 
an eclipse. 

Showing at regular intervals 
groups of flashes. 


Occ. = Occulting 


Gp. Occ. = Group oc¬ 
culting. 


A steady light suddenly and 
totally eclipsed at regular 
intervals. 

A steady light suddenly and 
totally eclipsed by a group 
of two or more eclipses. 


Alt. = Alternating. 
Alt. FI. = Alternating 
flashing. 


Alt. F. FI. = Alternat¬ 
ing fixed and flash¬ 
ing. 


Alt. Gp. FI. = Alter¬ 
nating group flash¬ 
ing. 

Alt. Occ. = Alternat¬ 
ing occulting. 


W. = White; R. = Red; G. = Green. 


A flash is always shorter than the duration of an eclipse. 

An occultation is shorter than, or equal to, the duration of 
light. 

Lights are characterized as flashing or occulting solely 
according to the relative durations of light and darkness, and 
without reference to the type of illuminating apparatus em¬ 
ployed or relative brilliancy. 

In approaching a light of varying intensity, such as fixed 
varied by flashes, or alternating white and red , due allowance 
must be made for the inferior brightness of the less powerful 
part of the light. The first-named light may, on account of 
distance or haze, show flashes only and the true characteristic 
will not be observed until the observer comes within the range 
of the fixed light; similarly the second named may show as 
occulting white until the observer comes within the range of 
the red light. Also, where there are two fixed lights, one white 
and one red , the latter may be obscured, and the station may 
appear to show only a fixed white light. 

At short distances and in clear weather flashing lights may 
show a faint continuous light. 

Period of a flashing or occulting light is the time required to 
go through the full set of changes in the light. This total time 
is given in the light list column * Name. Character and period 
of light,’ and the details are stated in the column 4 Remarks.’ 












510 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The durations of light and darkness given are those for which 
the apparatus is designed, and may vary slightly with irregular¬ 
ities in the working of the apparatus or because theapparent du¬ 
ration of a flash may be reduced by great distance or haze. 

A light in which the flash or occultation is caused by re¬ 
volving lenses or screens may apparently differ from the given 
period when observed at short distances from a rapidly moving 
vessel nearly abeam, the period and duration being increased or 
diminished according as the vessel is moving with or against the 
direction of revolution of the apparatus. 

Visibility of lights .—The distances given in the Light List 
at which lights may be seen in clear weather are computed in 
nautical miles for a height of the observer’s eye of 15 feet above 
the water level. These distances may at times be increased 
by abnormal atmospheric refraction, and of course may be greatly 
lessened by unfavorable weather conditions, due to fog, rain, 
haze, or smoke. Weak lights and colored lights are easily 
obscured by such conditions. 

Under certain atmospheric conditions, especially with the 
more powerful lights, the glare of the light may be visible beyond 
the computed geographic range of the light. When approaching a 
light it evidently may be seen earlier from aloft. 

The table below gives the approximate geographic range of 
visibility for an object which may be seen by an observer whose 
eye is at sea level; in practice, therefore, it is necessary to add 
to these a distance of visibility corresponding to the height of the 
observer’s eye above sea level. In some instances the actual 
or luminous range given in the Light List may be less than the 
geographic range because the light is not of sufficient power to 
be seen to the limit of the geographic range. 


Distances of Visibility for Objects of Various Elevations 
above Sea Level 


Height, in 
Feet 

Distance, in 
Nautical Miles 

Height, in 
Feet 

Distance, in 
Nautical Miles 

Height, in 
Feet 

Distance, in 
Nautical Miles 

5 

2.55 

70 

9.56 

250 

18.07 

10 

3.61 

75 

9.90 

300 

19.80 

15 

4.43 

80 

10.22 

350 

21.38 

20 

5.11 

85 

10.54 

400 

22.86 

25 

5.71 

90 

10.84 

450 

24.24 

30 

6.26 

95 

11.14 

500 

25.56 

35 

6.76 

100 

11.43 

550 

26.80 

40 

7.23 

110 

11.99 

600 

27.99 

45 

7.67 

120 

12.52 

650 

29.14 

50 

8.08 

130 

13.03 

700 

30.24 

55 

8.48 

140 

13.52 

800 

32.32 

60 

8.85 

150 

14.00 

900 

34.29 

65 

9.21 

200 

16.16 

1,000 

36.14 











COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


511 


Example .—Minots Ledge Light, seen just at the horizon, 
what, under ordinary conditions of the atmosphere, is its dis¬ 
tance from the observer? 

Height (according to Light List), 

85 feet, distance visible (ac¬ 
cording to table). 10.54 nautical miles. 

Add distance corresponding to 
height of observers eye above 
sea level, 15 feet.= 4.43 “ “ 


Distance of light. 14.97 “ “ 

Distances corresponding to heights not included in the 
above table may be found approximately by the formula 
D = 8/7 a/H, in which H = the elevation, or height, in feet, 
of the object above sea level, and D = the corresponding dis¬ 
tance of visibility, in nautical miles. The formula is based on 
the mean curvature of the earth and is corrected for ordinary 
atmospheric refraction, and should be used only for moderate 
distances and elevations. 

Candle powers of lights are stated approximately in English 
candles, but the intensity of a light as seen from a vessel may be 
greatly lessened or the light may be made invisible by unfavor¬ 
able conditions due to fog, haze, rain, or smoke. 

Light sectors. —In some conditions of the atmosphere white 
lights may have a reddish hue; the mariner therefore should 
not trust solely to color where there are sectors, but should verify 
the position by taking a bearing of the light. On either side of 
the line of demarcation between white and red there is always a 
small sector of uncertain color; in flashing lights with revolving 
illuminating apparatus this sector increases with the width of 
the flash panels and is therefore usually greatest in the case of 
the more brilliant flashing lights. It should also be remembered 
that the edges of a sector of visibility can not be cut off sharply. 

When a light is cut off by adjoining land, and the arc of 
visibility is given in the Light List or Chart, it must be remem¬ 
bered that the bearing on which the light disappears will, in 
many cases, vary with the distance of the vessel from which 
observed. When the light is cut off by a sloping point of land 
or hill, the light may be seen over a wider arc by a ship far off 
than by one close-to. 

Lightvessels en route to or from station, or off station, will 
fly the International Code signal letters ‘ QE ’ (signifying ‘ light 
ship is not at anchor on her station ’). 

“ Relief lightvessels may be placed at any lightvessel station. 
Relief lightvessels will in all cases, when practicable, exhibit 






512 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


lights and sound signals having the characteristics of the regular 
station vessel relieved. Relief lightvessels have all visible 
parts from the bow to the middle of the foremast, and from the 
middle of the mainmast aft, painted red; all visible parts be¬ 
tween the fore and main masts, including the middle third of 
each lantern mast, white except stack, which is black. The 
daymarks (oval grating or lantern galleries) at the mastheads 
have five vertical stripes, of equal width, three red and two 
white, and on the springstay, midway between the two masts, 
there is an oval grating daymark, with one white and two red 
vertical stripes. The word ‘ RELIEF * is in large black letters 
on the bulwarks on the middle of each side. 

The Nave sink Light 

At the entrance to New York harbor the most brilliant light¬ 
house in America shines every night. The Navesink Light at 
Sandy Hook holds this foremost position, swinging a beam of 
11,000,000 candle-power out across the sea once every ten 
seconds. It is well worth a trip to this famous lighthouse to see 
the remarkable Fresnel prism head. Two tons of optical glass 
built in the form of a cylinder about six feet high are mounted so 
beautifully that one can rotate the system with the slight pressure 
of a finger. This heavy head floats in a container of mercury and 
thus rotates with practically no friction. The two-ton head is 
revolved slowly all night long by the gradual dropping of a small 
weight through the height of the tower. 

XIV 

Tides 

Tides. Where tide tables are available all information can 
usually be obtained. When these tables are not at hand the 
chart will show the establishment of the port That is, the 
interval between the moon’s meridian passage, and the time of 
high water. Appendix IV Bowditch also gives many geographical 
positions throughout the world, the range of the tide and, the 
lunitidal interval for high and low water. The following is 
taken from Bowditch’s Navigator and explains the use of these 
figures. 

“ Establishment .—High and low water occur, on the average 
of the twenty-eight days comprising a lunar month, at about the 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


513 


same intervals after the transit of the moon over the meridian. 
These nearly constant intervals, expressed in hours and minutes, 
are known respectively as the high water lunitidal interval and 
low water lunitidal interval. 

“ The interval between the moon’s meridian passage at any 
place and the time of the next succeeding high water, as observed 
on the days when the moon is at full or change, is called the 
vulgar (or common) establishment of that place, or, sometimes, 
simply the establishment. This interval is frequently spoken 
of as the time of high water on full and change days (abbreviated 
* H. W. F. & C.’); for since, on such days, the moon’s two 
transits (upper and lower) over the meridian occur about noon 
and midnight, the vulgar establishment then corresponds closely 
with the local times of high water. When more extended ob¬ 
servations have been made, the average of all the high water 
lunitidal intervals for at least a lunar month is taken to obtain 
what is termed, in distinction to the vulgar establishment, the 
corrected establishment of the port, or mean high water lunitidal 
interval. In defining the tidal characteristics of a place some 
authorities give the corrected establishment, and others the 
vulgar establishment, or * high water, full and change; ’ cal¬ 
culations based upon the former will more accurately represent 
average conditions, though the two intervals seldom differ by a 
large amount. 

“ Having determined the time of high water by applying the 
establishment to the time of moon’s transit, the navigator may 
obtain the time of low water with a fair degree of approximation 
by adding or subtracting 6 h 13 m (one-fourth of a mean lunar 
day); but a closer result will be given by applying to the time of 
transit the mean low water lunitidal interval, which occupies the 
same relation to the time of low water as the mean high water 
lunitidal interval, or corrected establishment, does to the time 
of high water.” 

Knowledge of the times of high and low water and of the 
amount of vertical rise and fall of the tide is of great importance 
in the case of vessels entering or leaving port, especially when 
the channel depths are less than or near their draft. Such 
knowledge is also useful at times to vessels running close along a 
coast in enabling them to anticipate the effect of the tidal cur¬ 
rents in setting them on or off shore. This is especially im¬ 
portant in fog or thick weather. 

In navigating coasts where the tidal range is considerable, 
caution is always necessary. It should be remembered that 
there are generally indraughts to all bays and bights, although 


514 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the general run of the stream may be parallel to the shore. On 
coasts where there is much diurnal inequality in the tides, the 
amount of rise and fall can never be depended upon, and addi¬ 
tional caution is therefore necessary. 

It should also be remembered that at times the tide falls 
below the level of low-water ordinary springs. This always 
occurs on the coasts of Europe at the equinoxes, but in other 
parts of the world, and especially in the tropics, such periodic 
low tides may coincide more frequently with the solstices. Wind 
or high barometer may produce it at any time, and the amount 
varies with locality. When the moon’s perigee coincides with 
the full or new moon the same effect is often produced. 

The turn of the tidal stream offshore is seldom coincident 
with the time of high and low water on the shore. In some 
channels the tidal stream may overrun the turn of the vertical 
movement of the tide by three hours, forming what is usually 
known as tide and half tide, the effect of which is that at high 
and low water by the shore the stream is running at its greatest 
velocity. 

The effect of the tidal wave in causing currents may be illus¬ 
trated by two simple cases: 

(1) Where there is a small tidal basin connected with the sea 
by a large opening. 

(2) Where there is a large tidal basin connected with the sea 
by a small opening. 

m In the first case the velocity of the current in the opening will 
have its maximum value when the height of the tide within is 
changing most rapidly, z.e., at a time about midway between 
high and low water. The water in the basin keeps at approx¬ 
imately the same level as the water outside. The flood stream 
corresponds with the rising and the ebb with the falling of the 
tide. 

In the second case the velocity of the current in the opening 
will have its maximum value when it is high water or low water 
without, for then there is the greatest head of water for pro¬ 
ducing motion. The flood stream begins about three hours 
after low water, and the ebb stream about three hours after 
high water, slack water thus occurring about midway between 
the tides. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


515 


Along most shores not much affected by bays, tidal rivers, etc., 
the current usually turns soon after high water and low water. 

The swiftest current in straight portions of tidal rivers is 
usually in the middle of the stream, but in curved portions the 
most rapid current is toward the outer edge of the curve, and 
here the water will be deepest. The pilot rule for best water 
is to follow the ebb-tide reaches. 

Countercurrents and eddies may occur near the shores of 
straits, especially in bights and near points. A knowledge of 
them is useful in order that they may be taken advantage of or 
avoided. 

A swift current often occurs in the narrow passage connecting 
two large bodies of water, owing to their considerable differ¬ 
ence of level at the same instant. The several passages between 
Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay are cases in point. In the 
Woods Hole passage the maximum strength of the tidal streams 
occur near high and low water. 

Tide rips are generally made by a rapid current setting over an 
irregular bottom, as at the edges of banks where the change of 
depth is considerable. 

Current arrows on charts show only the most usual or the mean 
direction of a tidal stream or current; it must not be assumed 
that the direction of a stream will not vary from that indicated 
by the arrow. The rate, also, of a stream constantly varies with 
circumstances, and the rate given on the chart is merely the 
mean of those found during the survey, possibly from very few 
observations. 

No seaman should content himself with anything but a com¬ 
plete knowledge of the practical effects of the tide. Only a 
summary can be given here, but further study of actual effects 
is of the utmost importance. 

The word tide is often used in a confusing sense referring 
to the vertical movement and also the horizontal movement of 
waters. The best practice is to refer to the latter effect of the 
tidal wave as tidal currents. 

The tide rises until it attains a maximum elevation for any 
particular day. This is high water, or high tide. It then falls 
to a minimum level called low water or low tide. The period at 
both extremes, when for a short time no change in level takes 
place is referred to as the stand. 


516 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The tidal current generally flowing in from the sea during 
the period preceeding high water is called the flood , and the 
opposite movement following high water is called the ebb. The 
period between flood and ebb, or ebb and flood, is known as 
slack water^ when there is no current. This approximately 
coincides with the period of stand, referred to above. It is the 
best time to handle vessels around docks, except in cases where 
the current can be utilized to advantage. 

Set and drift are terms applicable to tidal currents, in de¬ 
scribing their direction and velocity. 

The range of the tide is the difference in level between high 
and low water, and is generally tabulated as the mean range, 
or mean rise and fall. The terms spring range and neap range 
are defined below.* 

At the times of new and full moon, the relative positions of 
the sun and moon are such that they exert a maximum effect 
on the tide in the same direct. These tides are spring tides; 
they have a greater range than any other tides of the lunar month. 

At the first and third quarters of the moon, the positions are 
such that the high tide due to one body occurs at the time of the 
low tide due to the other; the two actions are opposite and we 
have neap tides or the tides of smallest range. Tidal currents, 
depending upon the range of the tide, are greatest at the spring 
tides and least at the neap tides. 

The effect of the moon’s being at full and change (full moon 
and new moon) is not felt at once in all parts of the world, the 
greatest range of tide does not generally occur until one or two 
days thereafter; thus, on the Atlantic coast of North America 
the highest tides are experienced one day, and on the Atlantic 
coast of Europe, two days, afterwards, while on the Pacific coast 
of North America they occur nearly at full and change. 

The nearer the moon is to the earth the stronger is its attrac¬ 
tion, and as it is nearest in perigee, the tides will be larger then 
on that account, and consequently less in apogee. For a like 
reason the tides will be increased by the sun’s action when the 

* The distinction between “ rise ” and “ range ” of the tide should be 
understood. The former expression refers to the height attained above the 
datum plane for soundings, differing with the different planes of reference; 
the latter, to the difference between successive high and low waters. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


517 


earth is near its perihelion, about the 1st of January, and de¬ 
creased when near its aphelion, about the 1st of July. 

Strong prevailing winds, abnormal barometric conditions, and 
the state of the sea, may cause changes in the height of tides. 
The effect of atmospheric pressure is to create a difference of 
about two inches in the height of tide for every tenth of an inch of 
difference in the barometer. 

The tidal day is the variable interval between two alternate 
high waters. It averages 24 hours 50 minutes. The amount by 
which the tidal day exceeds twenty-four hours is called the 
daily retardation. When the sun’s influence is such as to cause 
a reduction in the lunitidal intervals, reducing the length of the 
tidal day, thus causing the tides to occur earlier than usual, 
there is said to be a priming of the tide. When the same influ¬ 
ence of the sun causes a lengthening or delay there is said to be a 
lagging of the tide. 

The theory of tides fills volumes. Every now and then some 
new and startling proposition is put forth. The subject is one 
of great interest to seamen as well as to scientists. A sailor 
may well use up some of his eight hours below in reading along 
these lines. In Washington they have tide predicting machines 
that foretell the tides, but in spite of this seeming perfection 
there is still a great deal to be found out about the mysterious 
rise and fall of the waters of the world, the effect of the tides 
upon the rotation of the earth and many other things relating 
to the past and future of the spheroid upon which we live. 

XV 

Bearings 

Bearings are among the oldest and simplest methods of locat¬ 
ing the position of a vessel when within sight of land. Books 
on navigation treat of this subject fully and only the briefest 
mention will be made of it here. 

Cross bearings of two or more objects, so situated that the 
lines of bearing will cut at a good angle (a right angle is best) 
are taken by compass and plotted, being certain to allow for the 
proper error. 

The bearing and distance of a known object. Distance found 


518 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


in a number of ways such as measurement of horizontal angle 
of the lantern of a light, height known. Distance found by 
inspection of Table 33 Bowditch. Distance found by noting the 
time and interval between the flash and report of a gun, at some 
known station, taking the bearing at the same time. (Sound 
travels at the rate of 1090 feet per sec. at freezing temperature 
(approx.).) At sea the use of sound measurements may often 
be employed, estimating the distance a wreck lies off shore, etc. 
The following table from Trautwine’s Engineer’s Pocket Book 
is of interest to the seaman : 

The velocity of sound in quiet open air, has been experimentally deter¬ 
mined to be very approximately 1,090 feet per second, when the temperature 
is at freezing point, or 32° Fahrenheit. For every degree Fahrenheit of 
increase of temperature, the velocity increases by from y 2 foot to iy 4 feet per 
second, according to different authorities. Taking the increase at 1 foot per 
second for each degree (which agrees closely with theoretical calculations) 
we have 

at — 30° Fahr. 1,030 feet per sec. ='0.1951 mile per sec. = 1 mile in 5.13 sec. 


ft 

- 20° 

cc 

1,040 

tt 

tt 

= 0.1970 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

5.08 “ 

(( 

O 

O 

fM 

1 

tt 

1,050 

tt 

tt 

= 0.1989 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

5.03 “ 

(( 

0° 

tt 

1,060 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2008 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.98 “ 

(( 

10° 

tt 

1,070 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2027 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.93 “ 

(( 

20° 

tt 

1,080 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2045 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.88 “ 

ft 

32° 

tt 

1,092 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2068 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.83 “ 

(( 

40° 

tt 

1,100 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2083 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.80 “ 

(( 

50° 

tt 

1,110 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2102 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.78 “ 

ft 

60° 

tt 

1,120 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2121 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.73 “ 

(« 

70° 

tt 

1,130 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2140 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.68 “ 


oo 

o 

o 

tt 

1,140 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2159 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.63 “ 

ft 

90° 

tt 

1,150 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2178 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.59 “ 

if 

100° 

tt 

1,160 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2197 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.55 “ 

Ci 

110° 

tt 

1,170 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2216 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.51 “ 

it 

120° 

tt 

1,180 

tt 

tt 

= 0.2235 

tt 

tt 

= 1 

tt 

4.47 “ 


If the air is calm, fog or rain does not appreciably affect the result; bu. 
winds do. Very loud sounds appear to travel somewhat faster than low ones. 
The watchword of sentinels has been heard across still water, on a calm 
night, 10y 2 miles; and a cannon 20 miles. Separate sounds, at intervals 
of 1/16 of a second, cannot be distinguished, but appear to be connected. 
The distances at which a speaker can be understood, in front, on one side, 
and behind him are about as 4, 3, and 1. 

The bearing of a known object and the angle between the 
known objects. This case needs no explanation. 







COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


519 


Two bearings of a known object with the course and distance 
run between bearings . Simply a matter of plotting. 

Sextant angles between three known objects. These are 
set on a three armed protractor or are plotted on tracing cloth 
or transparent paper and afford an ideal method of locating a 
vessel in pilot waters. See Bowditch Art. 152. 

Vertical and horizontal danger angles, are treated fully in 
Art. 155 Bowditch. 

The bow and beam bearing. Sometimes called the four point 
bearing. Note when an object is broad on the bow. Note log. 
When broad abeam note log. Interval run is distance off when 
abeam. Knowing the bearing this gives an excellent fix. Be 
certain that you will clear all dangers for if you find you are in to 
close by this simple method you will also learn this fact too late. 

Doubling the angle on the bow. When the angle on the bow 
at the second bearing is double what it was at the first bearing, 
the distance run in the interval is the distance off at the time of 
taking the second bearing. Plot this and continue the line of the 
course to get the distance off when abeam before getting there. 
This of course, refers to cases where the first bearing is less than 
four points on the bow. A good method is to take the object at 
two points on the bow and four points on the bow. 

When the first bearings is 26 V 2 degrees on the bow, (2% 
points—nearly) and the second bearing is four points, the 
distance run will show the distance off when abeam. 

These bow and beam bearings all depend upon accuracy in 
steering and correctly measuring the distance traveled over the 
ground. Currents along a coast may seriously falsify the results. 

Never hug a coast line too close. 

Let the other fellow take chances. 

If you are expecting to pick up a light and do not see it when 
expected, slow down, take a cast of the lead, watch weather 
carefully and stand to seaward again if need be until conditions 
improve. 

If about to make a coast on the starboard hand and you sight a 
light to port, starboard helm at once unless you are certain it 
is a steamer. If you do not sight the side lights, find out what 
the light is while your own stem is pointing to seaward. If 
making land to port do the opposite. 


520 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Don’t be reckless with the lives of others. Be wide awake 
to the possibility of disaster and you will avoid it. 

The above notes on piloting are made brief for the simple 
reason that no person in charge of a vessel should have such 
responsibility without actual practice in taking all of the bearings 
enumerated. Bowditch treats of this subject fully. 

Ranges are specially important to the seaman. By selecting 
suitable ranges on the shore, fore and back range marks far 
enough apart to be sensitive, he can keep informed of the holding 
of his ground tackle in heavy weather and of his actual progress 
up or down stream when drifting with a current. In places like 
the Magellan Straits where strong tidal currents are met with 
at some stages of the tide, ranges are of the utmost importance. 
Sailors entering or leaving port can often make good use of a 
range in casting or coming to anchor. 

A bearing and a range make a fine fix when such conditions 
are plainly marked on the chart. A range and a tangent on a 
point will often do when the point is marked by a sharp enough 
rise. 

Piloting through Fog 

The danger of running in fog has been very much reduced 
through special devices and methods of transmitting and receiv¬ 
ing signals. The seaman of today must be familiar with many 
things unheard of less than a score of years ago. Submarine 
bells, more reliable than those of the air, radio compasses, not 
to mention radio itself, the radio telephone, piloting cables, and 
ingenious applications of the relative speed of sound through air 
and water or through water alone, comparing it with the instan¬ 
taneous messages received by electric impulse. 

Still, with all of these things to guide him, many of the most 
dangerous places in the world are as they were since the be¬ 
ginning and seamen must be more than ever able to so pilot 
their larger and more important craft by careful use of the lead, 
the log, and by careful steering. Lookouts must be more awake 
than ever, officers and men more familiar with the dangers to be 
met with through greater draft and speed. 

Speed in a fog is not a matter of guesswork. It should be 
moderate . 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


521 


The United States Supreme Court, in the case of the Colorado, 
defines moderate speed in a fog as 

“ such a rate of speed as would enable her to come to a stand¬ 
still, by reversing her engines at full speed, before she should 
collide with a vessel which she should see through the fog.” 

The English courts agree upon this definition of the term 
“ moderate speed ” as applied to steaming in a fog, and the 
rest of Article 16—“ having careful regard for the existing 
circumstances and conditions ” sounds well on paper. 

Undoubtedly when it is so thick that the bridge lookouts 
cannot see the bow lookout, the rendition of the learned court 
means that moderate speed is to stop and drift. 

Most fog collisions occur in pilot waters and the greatest care 
must be exercised in the use of all fog signal apparatus. Sea¬ 
manship of a high order is necessary under such trying conditions 
as often prevail in Long Island Sound where traffic is heavy and 
the fog comes thick. The astonishing freedom from disasters, 
through collision, is due largely to good seamanship and a sense 
of feel developed by men who “ eat ” fog many days and nights 
during the year. The main thing necessary is to keep your 
reckoning and your head. (See Rules of the Road, Chapt. 16). 

Space will not permit of the exposition of the underlying 
principles of the fog signaling devices now in use, but a brief 
description is in order. 

Sound is conveyed in a very capricious way through the 
atmosphere. Apart from wind, large areas of silence have been 
found in different directions and at different distances from the 
fog signal station, in some instances even when in close proximity 
to it. The apparatus, moreover, for sounding the signal often 
requires some time before it is in readiness to act. A fog some¬ 
times creeps imperceptibly towards the land, and is not observed 
by the people at a station until it is upon them; whereas a ship 
may have been for many hours in it, and approaching the land. 
In such a case no signal may be made. When sound has to 
travel against the wind it may be thrown upwards; in such a 
case a man aloft might hear it when it is inaudible on deck. 
Under certain conditions of the atmosphere, when the fog signal 
is a combination of high and low notes, one of the notes may be 
inaudible. 


522 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The mariner should not assume: 

(а) That, because he fails to hear the sound he is out of hear¬ 
ing distance. 

(б) That, because he hears a fog signal faintly, he is at a great 
distance from it. 

(c) That, because he hears the sound plainly, he is near it. 

(d) That, because he does not hear it, even when in close 
proximity, the fog signal has ceased sounding. 

(e) That the distance from the intensity of the sound on any 
one occasion is guide to him for any future occasion. 

Taken together, these facts should induce the utmost caution 
in closing the land in fogs. 

XVI 

Submarine Bells * 

Although the sound-carrying properties of water have long 
been known, and experiments were made more than a century 
ago, it was not until about the year nineteen hundred that sub¬ 
marine bell signalling became possible. Some patents were 
obtained in this country in 1887, and the following year two 
Englishmen named Neale and Smallpage applied for British 
patents for a system almost identical in many respects with the 
system eventually adopted, but their apparatus was not a suc¬ 
cess, and their financial resources were not sufficient to enable 
them to make additional experiments. A few years later, Mr. A. 
J. Moody, of Boston, Mass., took up the subject, but ill-health 
compelled him to surrender the work to Mr. J. B. Millet, of the 
British Institution of Naval Architects, who went into the matter 
with great enthusiasm, and conducted extensive experiments 
which resulted in placing the system on a satisfactory and prac¬ 
tical basis. The difficulties which he had to overcome were the 
designing of submarine bells of various types to suit the require¬ 
ments of different localities, the perfection of a reliable apparatus 
for receiving the signals, the discovery of the best location in the 
ship for the receiving apparatus to be placed, the accurate loca¬ 
tion of the sounds and avoidance or stopping of the engines, 
when signals were being received or transmitted. Sound trans¬ 
mitted through water will not rise and be wasted in the air. 

* Adopted by permission from an article by Lawrence Irwell in the Sep¬ 
tember, 1920, National Marine. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


523 


A lightship fitted with the apparatus may be actually agitated by 
it, yet the passengers on a passenger ship will see nothing of it, 
although twenty to forty feet below the surface the bell may be 
ringing its appointed signals. This type is usually pneumatic, 
and is operated by compressed air. Another type of signal is 
one that is attached to the buoys which are a familiar sight along 
the coast of some European countries—little less familiar, how¬ 
ever, along the coast of our country. These buoys must not be 
confounded with the well-known bell buoy which, with its in¬ 
verted bath-shaped going and four swinging hammer, gives its 
melancholy warning with every oscillation caused by the move¬ 
ment of the sea. 

The automatic submarine signalling bell is of an entirely differ¬ 
ent type. Suspended from the buoy is a contrivance like a sea- 
anchor, and through this is fastened the apparatus which actu¬ 
ates the bell below. The difference in flotation between the 
buoy and the sea-anchor causes a difference in the vertical 
motion of the two bodies, and it is this difference which produces 
the power for striking the bell. The mechanism consists simply 
of a combination of rachets and pawls by which the motion of 
the waves acting upon the buoy compresses a spring to a certain 
point when it is automatically released, and causes the clapper to 
strike the bell. The inventor has left nothing to chance, for 
the force of the blow being dependent on the spring, and not 
on the wave-motions, is always the same whatever the weather. 
The only difference the weather makes is that the rougher the 
sea, the more frequently the bell strikes, sometimes as often as 
every five seconds. An absolutely dead calm alone silences the 
bell. Even eight waves, each six inches high, per minute will 
give six strokes. It is indeed seldom that the sea is so deficient 
of motion, however still it may look, that this bell will not sound. 

The submarine bell of every lightship has its own distinctive 
signal so that there can be no mistake as to what bell it is. For 
example, a lightship bell might strike three strokes at intervals 
of two and a half seconds between each stroke and then an 
interval of fifteen seconds. An actual case is that of the Maas 
lightship off the Hook of Holland which sounds groups of four 
strokes at two-second intervals, with an interval of twelve sec¬ 
onds between the groups. Other lightships, again, have groups 


524 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


of alternating numbers so that any ship captain on hearing the 
bell can ascertain his position without difficulty. 

Another method of communicating with vessels consists of a 
heavy tripod above the apex of which the bell projects. It is 
sunk at the desired location and is con¬ 
nected by means of an electric cable usu¬ 
ally with a lighthouse ashore, the keepers 
of which can sound the bell for as long a 
time as may be desired— for hours or 
days continuously. 

The apparatus carried by steamships 
consists of an oscillator fitted into the ship, 
and is useful for three distinct and import¬ 
ant purposes, viz.: signalling approach in 
time of fog so as to avoid collision; sum¬ 
moning aid in case of disaster. The latter 
use has to a limited extent been superseded 
by wireless; exchanging communications by code between war 
ships when other means of signalling, either by lights or by 
wireless, would be inadvisable for strategic reasons. 

Even a vessel which does not carry bell-signalling apparatus 
can take advantage of the signal bells, or any one can hear any 
submerged bell that may be ringing within sound by placing his 
ear against the skin of the ship below the water-line. Without 
the receiving apparatus, however, it is impossible to ascertain 
accurately the direction from which the sound reaches him. 
An unequipped vessel in distress can summon assistance by 
swinging the ship’s bell overboard so that it rings by striking 
the ship some distance below the surface of the water. This 
method of communication was used considerably in pre-wireless 
days, and it is still used to summon aid in storm or fog by fisher¬ 
men who go out in their dories from the large fishing schooners 
near the banks of Newfoundland. 

The receiving apparatus consists of two boxes filled with 
common salt and water and containing specially devised micro¬ 
phones. These boxes are fixed one on each side of the skin of 
the ship’s hold. The exact spot at which they are placed to 
obtain the best result varies according to the size and shape of 
the hull, but as a general rule their position is somewhat back 








COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 525 

from the fore-foot just before the full width of the ship is reached, 
or near the bilge and where the plates begin to curve from the 
bottom to the sides. A receiving box is necessary on each side 
because the sound, though it may strike the side of the ship, 
cannot pass through it and out at the other side. Each micro¬ 
phone is electrically connected with an indicator on the bridge, 
or charthouse, and by means of a couple of telephone receivers, 
the officers can listen for the bells. As these receivers are in 
duplicate, two persons can listen at once. The indicator is 
provided with a switch which connects either or both micro¬ 
phones, so that the listener can ascertain from which side the 
sound is travelling; when both sides sound equally plain, the 
bell heard is dead ahead, whether it is a ship’s collision bell or 
any other. The stronger the sound is on either side, the weaker 
it must be on the other, and by listening and comparing care¬ 
fully, any one can, with a little experience, locate the bell to 
within a quarter of a point of the compass. 

Distance by Submarine Signal 

When two ships equipped with this apparatus are proceeding 
in a fog, the apparatus is kept in constant operation and has a 
range from ten to twenty miles. Through the exchange of 
submarine oscillator signals, which are syncronized with the 
radio signals, the distance and position of one ship can be deter¬ 
mined by the other and if any other ships equipped with similar 
apparatus are within range, this ship will also receive the same 
signals, and upon determining their direction from the trans¬ 
mitting ship, can avoid collision. The direction and distance 
determining feature also enables a vessel to determine its dis¬ 
tance and bearings from lighthouses or vessels similarly 
equipped. 

In operating the direction and distance finding apparatus, 
signals are sent out simultaneously by the oscillator and by the 
radio apparatus from the transmitting ship, and the receiving 
ships through measuring the difference between the time the 
submarine signal is received and the radio signal is received 
can determine their distance from the transmitting ship very 
accurately. In other words, sound from the submarine appar- 




526 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


atus travels through water at the rate of 1,100 feet per second 
and radio waves through the air at the rate of 186,000 miles per 
second, and when signals are sent from both simultaneously the 
difference in time in the receipt of the submarine signal and the 
radio signal can be measured and the distance of the trans¬ 
mitting ship computed from the result. 

In addition to its uses as a navigation aid, the submarine 
oscillating apparatus also lends itself quite readily to both tele¬ 
graphing and telephoning through the water. Telegraphic 
signals can be exchanged for distances from twenty-five to 
seventy-five miles, depending upon the water characteristics, 
and telephone conversation can be carried on from five to 
twenty-five miles, depending upon the depth and characteristics 
of the water. It is, therefore, possible and not improbable that 
we will shortly be able to telephone from one ship to another 
through the water as well as through the air. 

XVII 

Radio Compass Bearings 

The Radio Compass * is an invention growing out of the war, 
one of the things that were developed to detect the direction of 
enemy submarines, aircraft and cruisers through the location 
of their radio calls. It consists essentially of a pivoted vertical 
coil forming the direction finding part of the receiving apparatus. 

Dr. Kolster of the Bureau of Standards, Department of Com¬ 
merce, discovered the principal of the radio compass; officials 
of the Navy Department worked out its practical application. 

Dr. Kolster, while experimenting with the electromagnetic 
wave, the wave sent out by a radio station, or by a “ wireless 
station ” as they are still incorrectly termed at times, discovered 
that when these waves struck, or cut as the electricians term it, 
a coil of wire at right angles to them, an electric current flowed 
through the coil, but when the coil was parallel to the wave, no 
current flowed through. Imagine a spiral spring lying on the 

The two most widely used systems of Radio Compass to-day are the 
Bellini-Tosi> which is the system usually employed by the British, and the 
Kolster which is the type used by the United States Navy. In both a pivoted 
vertical coil, is rotated by the operator. 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


527 


beach parallel to the shore line and the waves coming and 
striking on the side, or lying at right angles to the shore line and 
the waves coming in and striking it on the end, and the principle 
involved is perfectly clear. Striking, or cutting, at right angles 
as stated, the electric current flows through the coil, but striking 
the coil parallel currents of equal phase and amplitude, that is of 
similar force and character, start through the coil from each side 
and neutralize or offset each other. 

With this principle, or theory, of the radio wave to work on 
officials at the Boston and Philadelphia Navy Yards were in¬ 
structed to experiment and work out an apparatus to determine 
the direction from which a radio wave as coming and the loca¬ 
tion of the station sending the wave. These experiments began 
in 1916. 

The radio compass as now constructed is very simple. Two 
forms of coil are used. In one the wire is wound about the face 
of a five-foot frame in the form of a square, in the other the wire 
is wound around a rectangular box-like frame. The coil, in 
either form, is attached to the top of a steel shaft. Two wires 
lead from the coil through the shaft and are attached to a sound 
receiver worn by the operator. Attached to the shaft in the 
operating room is a wheel which the operator uses in turning the 
coil. Below the shaft is a dial divided into 360° the 0°-l80° line 
in the true meridian. 

Below the hand wheel of the shaft is a direction pointer re¬ 
volving within the compass dial. 

When a ship desires to get its bearing from the radio compass 
station, or its position in longitude and latitude, it sends a pre¬ 
arranged signal for one minute. As the signal comes in the 
operator slowly turns the coil of wire and listens to the sound of 
the signal. In the flat, or pancake form of coil as it is named by 
the Navy, the signal is loudest when the frame is edgewise to 
the wave. In this position the wave is striking, or cutting, the 
wire and flowing through to the sound receiver. When the 
frame is facing the wave the wire is struck simultaneously on 
both sides, the current does not flow through and there is no 
sound in the receiver. As the operator turns the coil there is a 
position at which he gets the loudest click and it then begins to 
weaken until he reaches the position at which there is an absence 


19 


528 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


of sound. As it is easier to determine the position of ab¬ 
sence of sound than the position of loudest sound the opera¬ 
tor notes the bearing of the ship on his dial when no sound can be 
detected. 

When the rectangular or box form of coil is used the position 
of loudest sound is when the coil is directly broadside to the wave, 
and the position of absence of sound is when one of the two 
open ends of the coil is directly facing the wave and the wire is 
being cut by the wave on both sides at the same instant. 



In May, 1919, the U. S. S. Chicago left Boston for Charleston 
to test out the radio compass stations. The following is an ex¬ 
tract from her report. 

“ The results were very satisfactory, and the stations uni¬ 
formly efficient. They prove, beyond doubt, the great value of 
the system both to the Navy and to merchant shipping. The 
average error of radio bearings was less than one mile. Up to 














COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


529 


distances of forty miles from the entrances to the various ports 
the navigators can generally rely on the information furnished 
being correct within a few hundred yards. From 40 to 75 miles 
away about three miles error should be allowed for and from 100 
to 150 miles 3 to 6 miles error should be allowed for.” 

The board further stated that it considered it perfectly feasible 
to navigate reliably, exercising the usual caution, from Cape 
Hatteras to Boston in thick weather and practically to make each 
of the port entrances without difficulty, due to the radio compass 
stations. 

The Navy (1921) maintains Radio Compass Stations along the 
Atlantic and Pacific coasts on the Great Lakes. Radio Com¬ 
pass Stations are designed to aid navigators, especially in thick 
weather, and have come to be recognized as one of the first aids 
to navigation. 

Because of the large amount of radio traffic handled on com¬ 
mercial wave-length of 600 meters, the workings of the radio 
compass service were greatly interfered with when operating on 
that wave-length. Accordingly, the Radio Compass Stations 
issue radio compass bearings on 800 meters only. Vessels to 
make use of this service, must have their transmitters tuned to 
800 meters wave-length. 

Accuracy of Radio Bearings* 

Mr. Elmer Collins, Nautical Expert, U. S. Hydrographic 
Office, has pointed out that long distance radio bearings must 
be plotted on great circle lines or considerable error will ensue. 

The following information was furnished by the Director of 
the U. S. Naval Communication Service under date of October 
10, 1919: 

“ The reliance that can be placed in bearings furnished by 

* While the Navy Department states that at the present time radio com¬ 
pass bearings have reached a high degree of accuracy, it must be understood 
that the Government incurs no liability for any consequences resulting from 
any inaccuracy in the taking or transmission of radio compass bearings. 
These bearings are provided free of charge, as aids to navigation, to be used 
at the discretion of the master of the vessel. 


530 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


shore radio compass stations will be governed by the following 
conditions: 

“ (a) When two sets of bearings are received which do not 
agree, a third set should immediately be requested. 

“ (6) In thick weather bearings should be requested at least 
every half hour. 

“ (c) Bearings that pass over intervening land or that are 
tangent to the shore line are not as reliable as those 
that have a clear sweep over the sea. 

“ (d) Navigators receiving a set of bearings should immedi¬ 
ately investigate the approximate fix indicated and 
determine whether or not they are being furnished 
with bearings from the stations that should be most 
reliable. 

“ (e) When the position of the ship as indicated by the radio 
bearings differs materially from the position by dead¬ 
reckoning, a second set of radio bearings should be 
requested in order to check the first radio position.” 

Radio compass instructions are issued by the Hydrographic 
Office. 

XVIII 


The Direction Cable 


“ The Audio Piloting Cable System ” 

The system is operated as follows: an insulated electric 
conductor or cable is laid along the line of the fairway in river 
mouths, harbor entrances, etc. A source of audio frequency 
alternating current is impressed upon the cable. One terminal 
of the generator producing the alternating current to energize 
the cable is connected at the shore end to a ground connection. 
The other terminal of the generator is connected to the insulated 
conductor or cable. The extreme end of the cable for example 
at a point at the entrance of a harbor is grounded to a metallic 
plate or is electrically connected to the steel armor, which serves 
as a protective sheath to the cable. It is a fundamental law of 
electricity that any conductor carrying an electric current pro¬ 
duces a magnetic field around the conductor. The current pro¬ 
ducing the magnetic field can be direct, pulsating or alternating. 
Michael Faraday, the eminent English scientist, in the year 
1831, pointed out to the scientific world that if a coil of wire 


COMPASS—LEAD—LOG—PILOTING 


531 


connected to an electrical indicating instrument was brought 
in the proximity of another loop or conductor carrying an electric 
current, that the signals produced in the transmitting loop or 
conductor would actuate an instrument connected to the receiving 
loop. Upon this discovery is based the invention of the Direction 
Cable. 

A cable is laid in the center of the ship channel. Through the 
listening devices on board, the ship gives off a sound of certain 
pitch that cannot be mistaken for any other sound. The ship 
hugs the cable from harbor line to the dock. On the bridge and 
in the captain’s cabin listening devices like telephone receivers 
are placed and attached by wires to the hull of the ship. The 
ship follows the course of the cable. Any variation away from 
the cable is indicated by visible indicators which show in feet 
the distance away from the cable and the ship is then put back 
over the cable by the steering rudder in the usual manner. 

By the ear receivers the indicators may be confirmed at all 
times. Vessels going into port will use one cable; those coming 
out another. The sound on each is different and there can be 
no confusion and therefore no collision. 

Along the cable at mile intervals a section is insulated with 
lead. Through this no sound can come and therefore the man 
on listening duty can tell instantly how far the ship has pro¬ 
gressed, and by the cable chart in front of him can tell where the 
cable turns and where the ship must be steered to follow the 
curve of the cable and the center of the channel. The new 
device, according to those who have tested it and recommended 
its use, is as reliable as the telephone. It will work in all con¬ 
ditions of water and weather, it is said, and no amount of elec¬ 
tricity in the air or powerful wireless currents about the ship 
can effect it in any way. 


XIX 

Pilots 

In concluding this chapter on piloting it may be well to say a 
word or two about pilots themselves. No seaman will question 
the sterling worth of his fellow workers, the pilots, in such 
services as those off Sandy Hook, and up and down the Atlantic 


532 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


seaboard, the San Francisco Bar Pilots, those of the River 
Hoogly, and many others in the great ports of the world. But 
men are to be found in many places who have set themselves up 
as pilots. The late Captain Ned Clements of Seattle, in speaking 
of Alaskan waters, used to warn the youngster who inclined that 
way—“ Don’t go to Alaska as a pilot on your first voyage. 
I did,” the Captain was wont to say, and then he would spin 
a yarn out of place in the pages of a book on seamanship. 

But the master mariner going into strange ports should look 
upon all pilots with suspicion, at least he should stick to the 
bridge himself, see to it that leadsmen are in the chains, and 
know where the vessel is at all times. 

Shipping and Engineering , a Shanghai publication in an issue 
of recent date, has the following to say about the Celestial pilots 
of the Yangtze River: 

“ The Chinese plying pilot is generally a native who has been 
discharged from one of the river-boats or a quartermaster who 
has been employed as such on the river, or as a leadsman, per¬ 
haps, to a foreign pilot. He has a smattering of the river and 
by means of oiling the palm of some Chinese compradore or 
shipping clerk, gets thrust forward as a competent pilot who 
will do a job cheaply and if asked for references can always 
produce somebody’s papers which have been loaned for the 
occasion for a consideration. Should an accident happen to the 
vessel whilst in charge of these incompetent natives, the pilot 
goes free; not so the master, who usually loses his job, although 
the vessel was in charge of a Chinese pilot appointed by the 
owners, or agents.” 

W. H. LaBoyteaux in his Handbook for Masters (a very 
excellent work of 100 pages) defines the responsibility of the 
Pilot and Master. 

“ The American and English laws differ somewhat in respect 
to compulsory pilotage, but in neither country is the pilot deemed 
to be in complete command, nor is the master relieved from all 
responsibility. 

u The duties of the pilot are never completely those of a master, 
nor under the American law is the authority of the master ever 
superseded by that of the pilot. The master remains at all 
times in full charge of his vessel, and upon him always rests the 
responsibility for her safety.” 


CHAPTER 15 


THE BRIDGE 
I 

Design 

Undoubtedly the bridge of a modern vessel is the most im¬ 
portant part of her superstructure. With the vast increase in 
size and a general doubling of ocean speed, the station of the 
officer of the watch becomes, more than ever, the brain of the 
vessel. A twenty thousand tonner with a poorly designed 
“ brain,” a place where the officer in charge is not at his best, is 
like any big fellow with a foggy headpiece. 

In the first place the bridge should be an ideal lookout situ¬ 
ation, with unobstructed vision, all around the horizon. It 
should be up high enough to give a clear view of both stem and 
stern. Where this is impossible docking bridges, fore and aft, 
or perhaps aft alone, should be provided, these to be within sight 
of the navigating or maneuvering bridge. 

The bridge should be well sheltered. But the question of 
shelter is one that very few officers agree upon. Some like to be 
housed in entirely, steam heated and foot warmed. This is very 
comfortable but many believe it carries with it a false sense of 
security—a lack of actual knowledge of wind and weather with¬ 
out. With a few million tons of large sailing craft on the sea, 
this question of what the wind is doing (free of charge) is of high 
importance. Many coast vessels keep their watch in the wheel- 
house entirely, the bridge being practically eliminated. With 
large wheelhouses this is not a bad plan, but to the mind of the 
writer it involves too much standing and sitting around. An 
officer should be actively on his feet, keeping awake by walking 
back and forth in the fresh air, his eyes sweeping the horizon, 
the surface of the water,* noting the direction of the wind and 
sea, and a number of other things about the ship. The watch 

* Hundreds of derelicts and other dangerous obstructions are reported in 
the hydrographic bulletins each month. 

533 


534 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


officer outside on the bridge is liable to be more active and able 
than the chap inside. If the reader should fall overboard (it is 
being done every day) undoubtedly he would prefer to have a 
watch officer out in the open to stop the vessel, toss over a buoy 
and call away the lifeboat, rather than to have some one first 
run into the wheelhouse and call the officer. 

A great many designs have been developed with regard to 
bridges but the following points should be kept in mind. 

An officer generally stands at the weather wing of the bridge. 
This is the most sheltered part, gives the best idea of what is 
going on ahead, and on the weather how and beam. From the 
weather wing he can look anywhere from dead aft around the 
weather side to well abeam to leeward. 



Not a bad idea for the helms¬ 
man during the North Atlantic 
winter. 


This ideal condition is only pos¬ 
sible with a bridge running straight 
across the breadth of the vessel. 

The helmsman should always be 
on the same deck with the watch 
officer. He should always, except 
in the finest weather, be sheltered 
in a wheelhouse and made as 
comfortable as possible. He should 
be within sight and hearing of the watch officer no matter where 
the latter may be while on the bridge. The wheel should be 
so placed that the officer in charge can see that his commands 
are being correctly understood and carried out. 

The wheelhouse should stand back from the path across the 
bridge, should have a circular front, glassed in with sliding 
shutters, and from the wings, quarters and middle of the bridge, 
dictaphone connection should be made with a loud speaking 
telephone opening into the top of the wheelhouse over the head 
of the helmsman. The officer will then get his command into 
the wheelhouse correctly and at once . The system should pro¬ 
vide for a reply audible at these points on the bridge. 

So much for the wheelhouse. This should be large, kept 
warm, and communicate with the chart room aft of it and with 
the master’s quarters below. The master should have a bunk in 
the chart room, and should always sleep there, all standing , when 
making the coast. 







THE BRIDGE 


535 



As to the bridge itself, it should be fairly wide, but not too 
wide. Six or eight feet is ample, as a bridge that is too wide will 
fill with wind eddies and 


keep things uncomfortable 
by back drafts. 

The old plan of fitting can¬ 
vas dodgers is good and these 
should be strongly made and 
triced to a stout wire jack- 
stay. Newer vessels some¬ 
times carry glass shutters in 
place of canvas. At any rate 
it is very necessary that the 
officer in charge have a clear 
view ahead over the dodger 
or shutter. Where a vessel 
is plunging into heavy rain of 
sleet, the problem becomes 
more difficult. The Kent- 
Chadburn Clear View Screen 
is being placed on many ves¬ 
sels. It consists of a circular 
disc of plate glass, mounted 
on a horizontal pivot in the 
fore and aft line. A small 
motor gives the disc a rapid 
circular motion and all water 
and sleet is thrown off by Kent-Chadburn Clear View Screen. 

centrifugal action, giving the 

observer a clear view through the revolving disc. The balance 
of the glass disc must be perfect and the glass of high quality. 
The observer cannot tell that the disc is revolving and can look 
into the dirtiest kind of weather with his eyes wide open. 

During the war the vast importance of good lookouts at sea 
developed an excellent type of wind shield. Here the wind 
impinging on the bridge, or other lookout, is split in a horizontal 
line, part of it shoots under the bridge and the upper portion 
curving on a convex plow turns back upon itself carrying the 
main wind current slightly forward and up over the head of the 







536 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The convex wind shield on a poorly designed bridge. 


observer leaving him in the calm center of this minature tornado. 
Where the curves are well designed a match will burn held over 
the edge of the shield. It is a very excellent method of sheltering 

a watch officer or a lookout and 
still keep him in the open where 
he can move about and see things. 

When the vast importance of 
bridge design is realized, not only 
as a matter of comfort, but as an 
important factor in the safety of 
life and property, these points, 
grown out of experience on 
bridges, good, bad and indifferent, 
will be taken into account by gen¬ 
tlemen who design bridges while 
bending over the exposed position 
The correct curve on the wind °f a drafting board. The writer 
shield — not onjhe officer. recalls one bridge in particular 

where he would have given a great 
deal to have caught the designer in the above position, especially 
after a cold watch off Cape Pillar in the month of June. 






















THE BRIDGE 


537 


The bridge with a semicircular front looks nice but has many 
practical disadvantages for the watch officer who likes to do his 
four hours duty walking back and forth, or to do his main peering 
into the night from the weather wing. 


McNab Engine Direction Indicator. The appropriate spindle moves with 
each stroke of the engine. The action is caused by an air pump attached to 
the engine. 

The bridge either straight, or circular, with a wheelhouse 
cutting across the center of the bridge (a favorite design with 
the Germans) is just as bad. Close the weather door of the 
wheelhouse and the weather wing of the bridge becomes useless. 

The opinion of the writer is that the weather wing of the bridge 
is the most advantageous lookout on a vessel. 

The best position of engine indicators, revolution indicators 
and the like is at the center of the bridge and possibly in the 
wheelhouse. On a wide bridge it is a fine thing to have the 
engine indicators led to the wings of the bridge. When docking 
most masters are either on one wing or the other of the bridge. 

The ideal position for engine room telegraphs is at both quarter 
points of the bridge. They are then within jumping distance 
at all times, do not interfere with the weather or lee stations at 
the bridge wings, but of course this means a double set of tele¬ 
graphs—not much of an item on a five-million-dollar liner. 

















538 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




Docking telegraphs should be at or near the wings of the 
bridge. A good position for docking telegraphs is on the after 
side of the bridge. 

The bridge should be provided with run¬ 
ning light indicators. The simplest way, 
where the side lights are carried in light 
boxes at the ends of the bridge is to have 
a pinhole through the bridge to the light 
box. A fine point of red or green light 
then shows that the lights are working. 

Some sort of audible alarm is also good. 

This should lead into the wheelhouse 
where the quar¬ 
ter-master stand¬ 
ing by, or the 
junior officer, can 
at once see to the 
lights if they go 
out. Of course 
the masthead 


A handy rig. Revolu¬ 
tion counter. R.P.M.’s 
lights are gener- and direction of engines 
ally visible from on telegraph stand. 
the bridge direct. 

Telegraphs are generally of the me¬ 
chanical type and are shown in the 
illustrations. These should always be 
tested before leaving or entering port. 
The electric telegraph dial has much to 
recommend it. 

Telephones are becoming more gen¬ 
eral and have a wide application on 
board ship; those of the loud speaking 
variety are best. Docking orders, etc., 
are less liable to be misunderstood, 

however, if given by telegraph. En- 
Telegraph on a turbine ine r<K)m orders must be s0 j 
steamer. Lower dial ma- ° 

neuvering turbines. except, of course when control is from 

Upper dial ahead only. the bridge direct. 








THE BRIDGE 


539 


II 

Keeping Watch 

The Officer of the Watch, the Master not being on the bridge, 
is in direct command of the vessel. If a derelict suddenly 
shows underfoot, he must act, must handle the situation. At 
night, under many different combinations of wind and weather, 
he has great responsibility resting upon him. For many weeks 
and even months nothing may happen, then, all of a sudden, he 
is confronted with situations that require the clearest judgment, 
the quickest action. Throughout this book, such situations are 
stressed, but the best advice the watch officer can assimilate, 
is this— Keep wide awake at all times , day and night . Realize 
your responsibilities. Know the Rules of the Road with abso¬ 
lute certainty. Impress upon yourself the tremendous moral 
responsibility that rests with you every moment you are on the 
bridge. Your charge is a direct personal responsibility; never 
forget this. 

When a watch officer comes down from “ mount misery ” as 
they call it in the bally trans-Atlantic trade, he has earned his 
pay for half a day at least. His duty then consists of taking 
excellent care of himself. He must rest and recuperate for the 
coming four hours of duty that lie ahead after his eight below. 
Taking such good care of oneself is a rather pleasant duty and 
this is one of the many reasons why going to sea in these days is 
such a fine thing to do. Many of us ashore, between the tyranny 
of office work, the suffering in subways, and the necessity for 
“ relaxation ” never find time to read any of the great books by 
which a man, while still alive, may gain some vision of the heaven 
and hell through which we all pass upon our strange voyage. 
Now, thanks to better conditions, every man jack on board has 
the marvelous gift of time at his disposal, in this respect being 
far better endowed than many of the most fortunate men ashore. 

What this has to do with seamanship is somewhat vague, but 
not to those who have drilled “ watch and watch ” around the 
world. The writer, when second mate of a big eighteen- 
thousand-ton freighter, spent two nights juggling this ship under 
the coal chutes at a Puget Sound port; she was so long we had 
to do a lot of warping back and forth. The reserve bunker and 


540 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


part of the upper ’tween decks were filled with coal, and as soon 
as filled, we cast off lines. The skipper, a real old tinier, and a 
gentleman, hated coal dust; he was a square-rigged wind jam¬ 
mer, and away we went. For over fifty days we slammed 
down through the Pacific, through Magellan Straits without a 
stop, up in the Atlantic to the Delaware and on to Philadelphia, 
the writer and one other unfortunate standing “ watch and 
watch ” on the bridge. The writer is willing to certify to the 
fact that for many hours during that memorable passage he 
stood on his feet sleeping like a horse in the middle watch; 
30% efficient would be a good estimate. The company saved 
S80 dollars in pay and about $15 worth of food on that passage. 
The vessel and cargo were worth at least two millions, even in 
those ancient days. Our British cousins still do these things, 
if we can judge by the letters of protest that appear from time to 
time in their very fine merchant service journal, The Nautical 
Magazine. 

Ill 

Relieving Watch 

The watch on the bridge is not relieved until the course has 
been passed. 

This is a rule that should be strictly observed on all vessels. 
If an emergency arises, when the two officers are on the bridge, 
some confusion may exist as to who is in charge. It is well to 
insist upon a rapid and business-like turning over of the watch. 
The following procedure is recommended. 

Call relief at least twenty minutes before eight bells. This 
gives him some time to get awake. Some officers, under the 
three-watch system, prefer to be called at seven bells. (In the 
old days a chap “ caulked off ” to the last minute and did his 
waking up—if he ever woke up—while on the bridge.) 

Quartermaster in calling the watch should always state the 
weather and temperature. 

Come to bridge at least five minutes before eight bells. Read 
the Captain’s orders, and sign them. Look over log, note state 
of barometer, etc. Get in tune with things, speed, etc. 

The officer of the watch should stand to windward, and as 
soon as his relief comes he should give the following information. 


THE BRIDGE 


541 


Vessels in sights—point them out. Vessels met with during 
watch, if any—just a general statement. Weather changes, 
and any other orders or instructions with regard to the vessel, 
her speed, behavior if weather is heavy, steering, lookouts, etc. 

The officer in charge then “ passes the course.” 

“ North 30 east,” or simply, “ Course is 30.” 

“ Thirty, sir! ” the relief replies and steps to the weather side 
in front of the officer being relieved. 

The instant that takes place the relief is in charge and if in 
crowded waters, fog, snow, rain, etc., and a sudden emergency 
comes up, there is no question as to who is in charge. 

If close to vessels or in the midst of a difficult maneuver, the 
officer of the watch should stay in charge until the maneuver is 
completed before turning over the watch. 

After the watch is relieved, the lookouts should make their 
reports to the new officer of the watch, and all routine duties 
should then go forward. 

As soon as relieved the officer who has just left the bridge 
should write up the log book before going below. If a junior 
watch officer is carried the senior reads and initials the log. 

IV 

Bridge Routine 

The discipline and life of the ship above decks centers on the 
bridge. A sloppy bridge is usually an indication of a sloppy 
vessel. Lax conduct, slovenly manners and dirt are a certain 
sign of a lubberly outfit. The master is directly responsible for 
the tone of his vessel. 

Officers and men should come to the bridge properly dressed. 
If uniform is worn this should be strictly according to regulation. 
Where civilian clothes are worn officers and men should be as 
neat in appearance as if ashore. Absolute cleanliness should 
be insisted upon. All fittings about the bridge should be kept in 
order, bridge washed down and paintwork wiped in the morning 
watch. 

All instruments, glasses, telescopes, lead and log lines, should 
be cared for by the quartermasters. 

Red and blue lights, rockets, bombs, and line carrying gun are 
usually under charge of the quartermasters. The buoys with 


542 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


watertights should also be in their charge. The officer specially 
charged with the upkeep of the lifeboat equipment, generally 
has one or two quartermasters to assist him. 

The navigator has charge of the chart room. No unauthorized 
persons should be permitted in this room. The bridge, as 
required by law, must be kept free from access by persons not 
directly connected with the navigation of the vessel. Customs 
officers and certain other government officials are permitted on 
the bridge. These rules are posted in all ships and should be 
strictly observed. 

On liners the master should insist that all officers and men 
coming on the bridge “ salute the bridge.” A little ceremony, 
but a big thing. Insist upon no skylarking by the youngsters. 
All conduct centers upon the dignity and seriousness of the 
watch officer, who takes his cue from the master. 

In passing orders by messenger do so as follows: 

“ Give my compliments to Mr. Smith, and tell him to prepare 
to come to anchor in half an hour.” 

Quartermaster, salutes, “ Aye, aye, sir,” and approaching the 
Chief Mate, salutes, and delivers message as follows: 

“ Captain Black’s compliments, sir, and prepare to come to 
anchor in half an hour.” 

On a liner great care should be taken in these little cere¬ 
monies. Salutes always returned and insisted upon. 

The great thing is to know just how far to carry this feature 
and at the same time maintain a just balance between common 
sense and ceremony. 

On many large freighters the same sort of consideration and 
discipline is carried out. It is a necessary part of sea routine 
where men are thrown together for months at a time and some 
sort of organized courtesy is a great help. 

The master who is not too familiar gets on best. It is a fine 
art to be friendly and severe at the same time. Never reprimand 
an officer in public. Do it in the privacy of your quarters—and 
do the job up brown. After that treat him with the greatest 
courtesy in public. 

The master who interferes with the routine work of the ship 
is usually a fool. If things don’t go right, get the Chief Mate and 
lay him out. Many of the wisest ship commanders do it all 


THE BRIDGE 


543 


through this unfortunate individual, giving him “ the work ” 
for things that happen, even when he is ashore, and “ should have 
left proper orders, etc.” 

This sort of thing adds to the quality of the respect shown the 
“ old man.” 

But—and this is important—back up the Chief Mate, and 
through him all officers, in the proper performance of their duty. 

The Master who comes on board and kicks about a dirty gang¬ 
way to the poor dub stationed there, simply makes a grouch out 
of himself. But the Skipper who comes over the side, says 
nothing, and ten minutes later the wrath of ages descends in the 
person of the Chief Mate, that skipper is a genius, and when he 
does bawl out orders, should the ship and all hands, perhaps, 
be in danger, every word he says is listened to with respect and 
rapid action follows. 

One of the best master mariners the writer was ever ship¬ 
mates with, never set foot on the bridge except to enter or leave 
port, or in fog, or other danger. If ice was reported he was on 
the bridge in an instant. The result was that whenever the old 
man was up, everyone was on edge. He came aboard a half 
hour before sailing and left when the lines were fast. Every 
man jack on board was proud of the skipper. 

Too many Masters, through a mistaken sense of their duty, 
or because of pressure from behind, try to show how active they 
are by meddling in the work of the mates. 

The Master has so much to do by reason of his responsibility 
that the wise ones see everything out of the corner of their eyes, 
do all their kicking through the Mate, training him in turn, to 
become a good skipper. This gives the master time to attend to 
the larger issues which make for the prosperity of shipping. 

V 

Steering 

A very interesting paper appeared in International Marine 
Engineering of March, 1919, on the steering of ships and this is 
printed, below, as it sums up much of the data with which sea¬ 
men should be familiar. The article is unsigned, but whoever 
wrote it has said much in very few words. 


544 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ All ships must possess the power to maneuver, but exactly 
to what extent will depend on the type of the vessel and the use 
for which it is intended. Although all vessels possess the power 
to maneuver, it can hardly be said that the majority of ships are 
really easy to handle. It is true they are handled, and handled 
effectively, but nevertheless captains often wish that they had 
more control over their vessels than is given them, even by twin 
screws and the ordinary rudder. 

“ It will not be without interest to examine what takes place 
when helm is given to a ship. As the rudder at first goes over, the 
ship for the moment continues on her course and there is a sud¬ 
den concentration of water between the rudder and the dead- 
wood aft. This sets up an increase of pressure on both the 
rudder and the deadwood, which pushes away the stern of the 
ship in the opposite direction to which the rudder is turning. 
The ship also moves bodily outwards. The instantaneous 
effect, therefore, is to move the ship along a course, which is 
curved in the opposite way to that in which the ship is required 
to turn finally. In a short time the ship takes up a definite but 
not really steady swing. This swing is helped by the pressure 
on the bow, the excess pressure on the 
deadwood aft being reduced. Shortly 
after this, the vessel settles down to a 
steady swing, the pressures on the bow 
and the rudder turning her, but the 
pressure on the deadwood aft is now 
on the opposite side to what it was 
oiginally, with the result that it retards 
the turning of the vessel. Equilibrium 
must eventually be established when 
the center line of the ship takes up a 
definite angle to the direction in which 
the center of gravity of the ship is trav¬ 
eling. This angle is called the drift an¬ 
gle. The distance between the original 
course of the vessel and the position of 
the ship when she is moving in exactly 
the opposite direction to her original 
one is called the tactical diameter of 
the vessel. If this is to be small, the 
deadwood aft should be well cut away. 

“ When the ship settles down on her 
turning circle, about the center of which 
she rotates, there is some point—usually well forward of amid¬ 
ships—on the vessel which only has a motion along the center 
line, every other point on the vessel really moving in some other 
direction. This point is called the pivoting point, and the resist- 



P/rr /e 


n»Wm/iri/ Yitrlrlor 





















THE BRIDGE 


545 


ance of the various parts under water to turning depends on 
their distances from this pivoting point. Since the pivoting 
point is forward of amidships, it follows that the aft deadwood 
is more effective in reducing turning than the forward deadwood. 

“ When the rudder is first put over, the center of pressure on 
it is below the center of pressure of the force opposing the lateral 
motion of the ship and in consequence the vessel at first heels 
towards the center of the turning circle. When steady motion is 
established, centrifugal force acts on the vessel through a point 
generally above the waterline and certainly above the center 
of lateral resistance. This force is more powerful than the 
pressure on the rudder, with the result that the vessel heels 
outwards. Although this is very generally true, it would be 
possible to conceive of a case where the pressure on the rudder 
was so great and relatively high, and the center of gravity of the 
ship, through which the centrifugal force acts, so low, that the 
ship might heel inwards on the turning circle instead of outwards. 

“ It is, of course, well known that wind will affect the steering 
of a ship. If she is moving with the wind on the beam, the 
center of pressure of the wind force on the above-water portion 
may be forward or abaft the center of lateral resistance of the 
under-water portion. In any case, helm will have to be carried 
one way or another to correct the tendency of the wind to turn 
the ship. This will always decrease the speed of the vessel. 
In one particular case, it so happened that the center of pressure 
of wind was abaft the center of lateral resistance, the deadwood 
aft was cut away, bringing the latter point further forward, 
making matters worse, so that a good deal of helm had to be 
carried with a beam wind. 

“ It is generally understood that wind can affect the speed of a 
ship a good deal. If the wind is directly ahead, it will retard 
the motion of a ship considerably by direct pressure, although 
it will not affect the helm. If it is on either bow, it will not only 
retard the speed on account of its direct pressure, but also by the 
fact that helm will have to be carried to keep the vessel straight. 
With wind directly on the beam, helm will always practically be 
carried, and the speed of the ship will be retarded on this account, 
although the wind pressure has no direct effect. 

“ Rudders are divided into several classes. The most com¬ 
mon form is the ordinary merchant ship rudder, in which the 
whole area of the rudder is abaft the axis of rotation. For many 
years the most common type of rudder in war vessels has been 
the balanced rudder. This takes several different forms. It 
may be completely balanced and supported by the rudder head 
and a bottom pintle, or it may be completely balanced and also 
completely underhung and supported from two points on the 
rudder stock. There is another form of rudder, described as 


546 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


semi-balanced, in which a small portion only of the rudder area 
is forward of the axis, the rudder being pivoted on the rudder- 
head and one or more pintles, the portion of the rudder below 
the bottom pintle being completely underhung. 



A B 



A, ordinary rudder. B, C, semi-balanced rudders. D, E, balanced rudders. 


“ The ordinary merchant ship form of rudder remains in 
general use because it is easily handled, although it is not so 
economical in form as some of the other types; speeds of 
merchant vessels being generally small, does not make the 
rudder unmanageable in size. The steering gear for it has to 
be larger and heavier than the more effective rudder of the 
balanced or semi-balanced type; all of its area being abaft the 
axis, the twisting forces acting on it are much greater than with 
the latter types. For vessels with cruiser sterns—which in¬ 
cludes practically all war vessels—the balanced type of rudder 
becomes almost a necessity, although in the last few years 
certain merchant vessels fitted with cruiser sterns have still been 
given the ordinary merchant type of rudder, and it is doubtful 
if there is any reason to depart from this form in general practice. 
If particularly rapid maneuvering is required, there may be some 
reason for it. 

“ There is no very accurate way of working up the strength 
of rudders from first principles, as the forces acting on them have 
never been very accurately determined. Formulae are used for 
this purpose in certain cases which are admittedly comparative. 
For the majority of merchant vessels the necessary rudder sizes 
are all given in the rules of the classification societies. It can 
hardly be said that a rudder is particularly effective in con¬ 
trolling a ship; in fact, if specially delicate maneuvering is 
required in a vessel, twin screws must always be fitted to assist 
the rudder. Whether more effective methods will be devised 
for controlling the motion of a ship must be left for the future 
to decide, but any improvement on the present system would 
certainly be sure of a warm welcome.” 






















THE BRIDGE 


547 


The turning circle of a vessel should be known to the master 
and all officers who are in charge of the bridge, and it is well to 
measure this when the exact data is not available from correct 
records made during the steaming trial. 

A sighting object, a mark buoy or barrel, is weighted and 
fitted with a pole painted white and carrying a small brightly 
colored flag. This mark is thrown overboard and the vessel 
steams off a mile or so, turns and approaches the mark, keeping 
it about a quarter mile inside of the proposed circle. At a given 



signal the helm is put over hard, the mark being about two 
points forward of the beam, turning, let us say, on port helm 
with the mark buoy to starboard. The course, the time, and 
the bearing of the mark buoy are simultaneously recorded and 
two observers, forward and aft, angle on the buoy. After the 
vessel’s head has turned four points, blow a whistle and record 
course, time and bearing of buoy. Do this every four points 
until the vessel is back again on her original course. 




























548 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


With these bearings (from the bridge) and the horizontal 
angles between the buoy and the forward and after observers, 
their distance apart being carefully measured, the turning circle 
can easily be plotted to scale and measured. 



The Kitchin Reversing Rudder. A, control for opening and closing blades. 

By Rudder head for steering. 

A recent development that promises well is the Kitchen 
Reversing Rudder. This rudder performs incredible things in 
the way of maneuvering a single screw vessel. The rudder 
consists of two semi-circular blades, and is best shown by the 
illustrations. The usual helm action is used for ordinary steering 
with the added advantage that the form of the rudder causes 
the entire propeller stream to be directed either to one side 
or the other, F. When going ahead the rudder stream passes 
through the opening in the steering semicircles, these are some¬ 
what contracted causing a slight nozzle action in the propeller 
stream tending to increase the speed, A and B. 

But the most astonishing effect is found when the two parts of 
the rudder are brought together, and the propeller stream, react¬ 
ing on the rudder, turns forward, E\ the vessel then goes astern. 
While going astern the rudder action is available for steering, H. 

Many combinations of steering and reversing, H y or partly re¬ 
versing the propeller current C and G, can be made, giving the ves¬ 
sel a wide range in maneuvering. The sponsors for this system 














THE BRIDGE 


549 


claim that a ship so fitted can be stopped within her length going 
from full speed to dead stop. By placing the rudders in the 
position C the vessel will remain stationary. In the position D— 
slow astern. 

In the figure, the vessel is stationary and is also turning to 
starboard. 

The system is applicable to twin screw vessels, or, where 
triple screws are fitted the rudder operates as in a single screw 
vessel, abaft of the midship screw. 

The opening and closing of the rudder blades is effected by a 
separate mechanism adding somewhat to the complication of 
the steering gear. 

But for tugboats, torpedo boats and other war craft, its mar¬ 
velous steering qualities may overcome this apparent drawback. 

Steering gear is generally considered to consist of the wheel, 
on the bridge, the means of communicating the motion of the 
wheel to the valves of the steering engine, the steering engine 
or motor, and the machine upon which this operates to effect the 
turning of the rudder, in other words the tiller or helm. 

So we have— 

Wheel 

Communicating device to engine 

Steering engine 

Helm 

Rudder 

The wheel located in the wheelhouse on or near the bridge 
generally consists of a small brass or mahogany wheel, or a 
combination of both. It acts the same on all ocean vessels. 
To Starboard the helm , turn the wheel to port—and ship’s head 
goes to port. To port the helm , turn wheel to starboard. That 
is the wheel is turned in the opposite direction to the helm com¬ 
mand. This has caused endless confusion, but like many things, 
including original sin, it seems here to stay. The Navy has 
cleaned out the whole situation, for themselves at least, by an 
official fiat that the commands for steering shall be 
Right rudder in place of Port 
Left rudder in place of Starboard 

When the order “ Right rudder ” is given the steersman turns 
the wheel to right, and the ship’s head goes the same way. 


550 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Captain W. A. Sprague, master of the Planter E. P. Nones in a 
letter to the author makes the following common sense sugges- 
tion. 

M Any man who has been going to sea long enough to qualify 
as a helmsman has learned instinctively the port and starboard 
hand of a vessel. Then what simpler method of conning the 
wheel than to give the command, ‘ Starboard the wheel ! 1 indi¬ 
cating that the wheel is to be turned to starboard, and likewise 
the vessel’s head goes to starboard.” 


If this were carried out, the terms Starboard and Port ) so 
necessary in many ways at sea, would be retained and the 
burden of thinking of the new system would be on the officer and 
not the man. Also, the officer would 
only have to call out his direction 
having in mind his desire to turn the 
vessel the same way. 

After a while the word wheel could 
be dropped and we would again have 
the simple sea terms port and star¬ 
board. 

But seagoing began before the 
modern day of wheels, and when the 
wheel came in the shellbacks of that 
ancient period looked upon it with 
little favor and still insisted upon their 
helm. 

Boat practice is a great educator for 
the helm method of conning the 
wheel, and so far as we now know, 
this relic of the past will stick with us 
in the merchant service for a few 
hundred years more, or at least until 
such time when steering is done by radio from the home office 
and the skipper and mate are simply called the first and second 
lookouts. 

The disadvantage of having two kinds of helm orders under 
the same flag is a serious one, especially in war when so many 
merchant seamen must enter naval service. Only one mistake 
would be a dear price for the new idea. 



telemotor stand. 









































THE BRIDGE 


551 


Communication between wheel and steering engine may be by 
some direct method, such as rods or wires, or by an hydraulic 
device called a telemotor . This is used very extensively and 
works with ease. The Brown hydraulic telemotor consists of 
two hydraulic cylinders, one located in the wheelhouse and one 
aft near the steering engine, connected by copper tubing. 

The piston in forward cylinder is displaced by the wheel 
working through the gearing as shown. This displacement is 
communicated to the piston in after cylinder and the move¬ 
ment communicated by suit¬ 
able levers to steam valve on 
the steering engine. As soon 
as the wheel is released the 
springs will return after piston 
to neutral position and this 
displacement will in turn be 
communicated to the forward 
piston returning it also to 
neutral position. 

Should the zero position of 
the steering wheel not corre¬ 
spond with the zero position 
of the helm, the wheel should 
be put to the zero position 
this is all that is required in 
some makes of telemotor, in 
others it is necessary to open 
a by-pass valve which is kept 
open until the helm reaches 
the neutral position. 

The pump for charging the 
system with liquid is shown in diagram. 

Troubles . The most frequent source of trouble in the hy¬ 
draulic telemotor has been due to air in the system. Instructions 
issued with the various makes of telemotor for getting rid of air 
should be consulted. 

Leaks in the piping connections are another source of trouble. 

The fluid pressure in a telemotor need never exceed 250 lbs. 
per square inch. 



Diagram of telemotor gear. (Wheel 
not shown.) 





























552 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Piping should not be run where there are great variations in 
temperature. Sharp bends, or pockets which are likely to form 
air traps should be avoided. 

Mixture. In tropical climates the system should be filled with 
clean fresh water but in colder climates a mixture of water 
with glycerine or telemotor oil should be used. The best mix¬ 
tures follow— 


Per cent glycerine in mixture. 

25 i 

33 

50 

60 

Safe working temp., deg. F. 

+ 13 | 

+ 10 

-20 

-30 


Any mixture over 60 per cent glycerine is too thick to operate 
properly. Telemotor oil starts to congeal at about 15 deg. F. 

The electric telemotor consists of an electrical control between 
the “ wheel ” and the steering engine. The term wheel is 
used advisedly for in this gear, the Benson Electric Telemotor , 
steering is done by a “ controller handle ” from what looks 
suspiciously like the familiar pedestal mounted on the front end 
of a trolley car. 

There are fourteen contact points on the contact disc, seven 
on either side of midship and correspond to the following rudder 
angles: 


Contact Number Degrees of Travel Total Rudder Angle 

1 . 3 3 

2 . 3 6 

3 . 3 9 

4 . 5 14 

5 .10 24 

6 .10 34 

7 . 10 44 (hard over) 


The controller handle may be put hard over one way and back 
again and then brought to rest at say number 4, Starboard (or 
right) and the rudder will then come to rest at that point, for 
obviously the rudder can not go over and back as fast as the 
controller, so it finds its way to the position of the controller 
direct without going through the motions made in getting there. 

It is all a matter of electric wiring, relay cabinets, and motors. 
The action is as follows: 





















THE] BRIDGE 


553 


When the controller lever is placed on any contact on the 
controller disc an electrical circuit is completed through a contact 
in the follow-up disc to a controller ring in the follow-up casing 
and from there to one of the remote control relays selected by 
the direction in which the lever is resting. This immediately 
closes the primary circuit through the motor, starting it running 
in that direction. As the motor runs it operates the cross head 
(on the rudder head) and also the follow-up disc. When the 
follow-up disc reaches the position corresponding to the con¬ 
troller lever the circuit is open through the relay causing the 
motor and the crosshead block to stop at that position. At the 
same time the single pole relay closes and places a dynamic 
brake on the motor to insure its stopping instantly at the right 
place. It stays in this position until the controller lever is 
shifted by the (steersman, let us say), when the operation is 
repeated. 

“Great Jupiter! is this seamanship?” someone may say, 
but every change has brought with it similar exclamations. 

Steering engines , are generally steam engines, but with the 
increase in motor vessels electric steering motors will become 
more numerous. The steering engine is most often a stationary 



A quadrant steering engine. 




554 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


engine operating a moving gear, a tiller, a quadrant , or some 
arrangement of a cross head with arms working on a right- and 
left-handed screw, or else it turns a drum. 

The Brown steam tiller is a device in which the engine is 
mounted on the tiller and swings from side to side, a cog wheel 
actuated by the engine, engaging the cogs of a stationary semi¬ 
circular rack, or quadrant, bolted to the deck. Steam is led to 
the tiller from a point directly over the axis of the rudder stock. 
This device does away with chains, rods, ropes, etc. 

Quadrant steering engines are the reverse of the Brown 
engine. The engine is stationary and the quadrant rack is 
directly keyed to the rudder head. This is a good gear where 
space is limited. 

Right and left screw gear works with two steering arms, 
pivoted to two nuts (right and left) working at opposite ends of 
the same shaft the screw having opposing threads. The ends of 
the steering arms are pivoted on a cross head attached to the 
rudder head. When the screw shaft revolves the nuts come 
together or move apart, imparting a turning motion to the cross 
head by means of the steering arms. It is a simple system and 
works well. Many hand steerers are built on the same plan. 

Drum steering engines simply work a drum and this, by means 
of wires or chains, works a tiller or quadrant. The quadrant is 
preferable to the tiller as the same leverage is maintained 
throughout the swing of the rudder. 

Hydraulic steering gears are coming into favor. The use of a 
cross head, two steering arms, pivoted to the plungers of the 
hydraulic engine, works out very well. The pressure is supplied 
by an electric driven pump. The direction and speed of this pump 
is controlled from the bridge by telemotor. In the Hele-Shaw 
gear, oil is used instead of water. 

In all steering engines and gears provision should be made 
for ready uncoupling and for instant shipping of the hand gear. 
All such gears of good design are fitted with buffers, friction 
couplings, dash pots, and the like for taking up severe rudder 
shocks. This saves the rudder as well as the gear. 

No definite rules can be laid down at the present time with 
regard to steering gear. Use common sense. Study the gear 
in each new ship. Practice the crew in shifting from power to 


THE BRIDGE 


555 


hand and back, and try out the gear at sea under hand power. 
On entering or leaving port always be certain that the second 
mate has the hand gear clear and understands its use. 




Drum steering engine. Hand gear. Note that hand gear is always 
ready with this rig. Lock hand gear and work engine. Stop engine, unlock 
hand gear and steer by hand. 


Do not allow the after wheelhouse to be used for stowing 
deck gear. Be certain that everything in it is secure against 
shifting even with a severe shock, such as a collision. Some¬ 
times heavy spanners, spare tillers, etc., are held to the bulk¬ 
head, close to the steering engine, in such a way that they may 
be dislodged and fall into the gear, perhaps at a time when the 
working of the gear would be vital to the safety of the vessel. 

Before winding up the subject of steering it may be well to 
say a word or two about the actual process of steering a ship. 
Green helmsmen are apt to give the vessel too much helm, to 
pay too much attention to the lubber’s line and not enough to the 
ship’s head. Steering is of such great importance and good 
helmsmen are so valuable that great attention should be given to 
steering and to the training of men to do this work. Like heaving 
the lead, steering is one of the few real sailor’s jobs that are 



































556 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


left. Tooling along a forty-thousand-ton liner is some sport 
and requires a good man, even with the best of gear. Wind and 
sea make a great difference in the steering quality of a vessel 
and the use of too much helm not only affects her steering but 

pulls down the speed. Most 
seamen are familiar with the 
method of stopping a fast 
yacht as she races into an an¬ 
chorage by swinging the helm 
hard over from one side to an¬ 
other, using it as a brake. In 
a lesser degree the same thing 
happens when the rudder is 
swung too far over from side 
to side. 

A helmsman should never 
do more than a two-hour trick; 
in lively weather one hour 
would be better. The writer 
has stood many a trick of four 
An electric helm indicator . hours at the wheel droughing 

down the coast through the 
Florida Straits, steering and keeping a lookout while the Mate on 
deck did a turn or two with a paint brush, or a hose. Those 
were great days at sea. 

But while times are easier today, still new things bring with 
them a demand for better work. Devices are now perfected 
to keep a record of the steering, to trace on a cylinder the very 
track of the vessel each minute of the day. Other devices 
record the performance of the helmsman.* Many a chap has 

* A recent series of tests on a large modern steamship showed surprising 
results in regard to different helmsmen. It was found that the best helmsmen 
made 85 movements of the steering wheel per hour, and the worst 565 
A device, therefore, which records the steering operations, and thus enables 
investigation of them, has possibilities of great practical usefulness. Such a 
device is available in the Russell-Ranken steering recorder , which records 
graphically, without need of subsequent plotting or calculation, every move¬ 
ment of the helm, at the same time registering the hour, the minute, half¬ 
minute and quarter-minute. It shows the amount of helm to port or starboard, 
the length of time taken to operate the rudder, and the length of time it re¬ 
mained in a stationary condition. 




THE BRIDGE 


557 


cut snakes in the wake while the old man was napping and 
the mate earning his pay with a brush, and no one was the 
wiser although it was an expensive process even in the old days 
when coal was two dollars a ton. 


VI 

Notes On Signals 

The most important signals at sea are those of the radio 
telegraph and the radio telephone . The first involves a know¬ 
ledge of some code while the latter merely requires a knowledge 
of the language spoken by the sender. 

The International Morse Code y or a modification of it called 
the Continental Code , is used in submarine cable messages and 
in radio messages. This latter code consists of the Morse 
alphabet and numerals together with a special set of conventional 
signals particularly adapted to radio transmission. 


The Morse Code 

Alphabet 


Numerals 





6 - 

7 - 

8 - 

9 - 


The recorder may be connected to either the controlling shaft of the 
steering engine or to the rudder-post, and, depending upon which of the 
plans is adopted, the position of the instrument may be either aft in some 
suitable position, or on the bridge. 

The instrument is a combination of three main features, viz.: 

1. A slide carrying the marking device, and attached either to the rudder- 
post or to the intermediate fore and aft shafting between the engine and 
steering gear. 

2. A clock, having combined with it an automatic recording apparatus. 

3. A clockwork mechanism operating the paper. 





558 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Punctuation 

Period.. 

Comma. .. 

Interrogation.*.- 

Hyphen or dash.. 

Parentheses (before and after the words).. 

Quotation mark (beginning and ending).. 

Exclamation.. 

Apostrophe... 

Semicolon.'... 

Colon.. 

Bar indicating fraction.. 

Underline (before and after the word or words it is wished to 

underline).. 

Double dash (between preamble and address, between address 
and body of message, between body of message and signa¬ 
ture, and immediately before a fraction).. 

Cross. ... 

The Morse Code (leaving off the “ International ”), can be 
used for signalling in many ways. Flash lanterns (blinker), 
whistles, searchlights on the clouds, and in fact any dot and 
dash method may employ this code. It is so important that no 
youngster going to sea nowadays should neglect to thoroughly 
learn the alphabet and numerals and the few conventional 
signals necessary to send and read messages. Often a know¬ 
ledge of this code is the means of saving life. 

The International Code 

This refers to the flag and distant signals and the many 
combinations by which seamen may communicate with each 
other regardless of language. It is truly an international 
method of communication. 

There is no substitute for the Code Book . 

This note is simply to impress upon the mind of the seaman 
the fact that it is his duty to study this book and know it thor¬ 
oughly. 

Know—• 

How to make a hoist. 

How to interpret a signal made by another vessel. 

How to reply, and how to take a signal from the book. 

How to recognize the character of a hoist by the number of 
flags, one, two, three and four flag hoists. 




















THE BRIDGE 


559 



m 

■ te -BE B 

Ml 

WH I j M 
MB IS 

MBS 




pi d -te 


“Code Flag ” and 
“ Answering 
Pennant.” 



International code flags. 


20 























560 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The parts of the code book—what for. 

The urgent signals by heart. 

The distress signals by heart. 

The distant signal shapes, how made. 

And, last but not least, the code flags. 

In the U. S. Navy each flag is given a name to avoid error in 
calling off, as, for instance, mistaking T for V, etc. These names 
are very handy and should be adopted by merchant seamen. An 
officer picking a signal from the code book calls out the “ names ” 
to the quartermaster making up the hoist, instead of the letters. 


A—Able 
B—Boy 
C—Cast 
D—Dog 
E—Easy 
F—Fox 
G—George 
H—Have 
I—Item 


J-Jig 

K—King 
L—Love 
M—Mike 
N—Nan 
O—Oboe 
P—Pup 
Q—Quack 
R—Rush 


S—Sail 
T—Tare 
U—Unit 
V—Vice 
W—Watch 
X—X-Ray 
Y—Yoke 
Z—Zed 


This system is in use wherever signals have to be called out 
in the Navy. In fact navy signalling is so superior that merchant¬ 
men should study navy signalling, signal racks, halyards and 
other gear and adopt these speedy navy methods wherever 
possible. Square code flags generally run from 3' x 3' to 8' x 8'. 


The Semaphore Flag Signals 


This method of signalling is the most rapid in use and merchant 
seamen should learn it for convenience. Each vessel should 
have at least two signal men, usually youngsters and these men 
should be required to practice daily. Navy men going into the 
merchant marine will bring a lot of this fine training with them. 

The system is also adapted for use with the machine sema¬ 
phore. 

The flags used in semaphore signalling, are hand flags 12 or 
15 inches square. The Navy flags, “ Oboe,” “ Pup ” and 
“ Sail,” use the ones contrasting most strongly with the sur¬ 
roundings of the sender. 

Make all motions sharp and distinct to avoid confusion. A 


THE BRIDGE 


561 


r 


r»? 




fit °0 


NAVY 

SEMA 

PHORE 

FLAGS 

12 TO 15 

INCHES 

SQUARE 





ERROR 




r r 



Slectne 
lights 
arefiitefc 
onvanwof 

MACHINE 

ro**. 

ITiqhliDork 




H* 1 

% 


a 



swl 

WHITE 

FLAG-, 

BLUE 

CENTRE 

ALSO 

USED 



IX EXECUTE 

Jl 



ANNULLING 

IVJ 



K -0 



INTERROGATORY 






1 

PREPARATORY 



AFFIRMATIVE 




T 


sHSIHl 


ACKNOWLEDGE" 




INTERVAL 

SEE NOTE 



Secondary 

TKeanings 

ofSgtters 

L,M,N,OfiP 

are same in 
Y0igwaa< 
-S&r? 

SignalSign 



CORNET 

ATTENTION 


FOOT 

LIGHTS 

‘-‘used 

-at— 

NIOHT 
— if— 

lanterns 

arc usc6. 




SIGNALS 

FOLLOW 





CHOPCHOP 


111 

LETTERS 

FOLLOW 


INTERVAL NOTE 

BY MACHINE & HAND FLAG-S - BY ALLSIG NAL METHODS BUTFLAGCOOE&VERf 

double Interval istwo chop-chop signals; end of word--—^TERVAL 

TRIPLE INTERVAL ISTHREECHOP-CHOPS& ENDOFSENTENCE-.DOUBLE. NTERVAL 
WITHDRAWING FLAGS OR CLOSING MACHINE END OF MESSAGE.. -TRIPLE INTERVAL 

NO NUMERALS: ALL SIGNALSARE SPELLED'OUT MESSAGES EXCEPT NAVY CODEBOOK SIGNALS 

















































































































562 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


slight pause should follow each character or letter. The quick¬ 
est way to learn semaphore is to practice with someone . 

Miscellaneous Signal Data 

The Weather Bureau stations at Cape Henry, Virginia; and Sand Key, 
Florida; and the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange Station at Delaware Break¬ 
water, are equipped for day and night communication with passing vessels. 
The International Code is used by day and the Morse Code, flashlight, by 
night. Messages to or from vessels will be forwarded to destination. 

The stations at Point Reyes light, California; North Head, Washington; 
and Tatoosh Island, Washington, are equipped for signaling by the Inter¬ 
national Code, and are prepared to transmit by telegraph the messages of 
passing vessels. 

All U. S. Coast Guard Stations on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are 
equipped for signaling by the International Code and the International Morse 
Code (wig-wag). On the Atlantic coast those stations north of Cape Hatteras, 
with few exceptions, and on the Pacific coast those stations near lines of 
communication, are prepared to transmit messages of passing vessels either 
by telegraph or by telephone and telegraph combined. 

Coston rockets will rise to a height of over 400 feet and throw 
a shower of red balls that burn with great intensity and can be 
seen at a great distance. 

Coston night signals are of two types, Percussion and Friction. 
Examine those on board ship and read all directions printed on 
them. Rockets and lights must be kept dry in special metal 
boxes. 

The lights in use are: 

Blue Lights 

Green 44 

Red “ 

White “ 

Fog “ 

Distress 44 

Pilot “ (blue light) 

Signals from Pilot House to Engine Room 
(if Telegraph Breaks Down) 

When engine is stopped, One bell for Ahead Slow. 

When running ahead slow, Jingle for Full Speed Ahead. 

When running full speed ahead, One bell for Slow Down. 

When running ahead slow, One bell for Stop. 




THE BRIDGE 


563 


When stopped, Two bells for Astern . 

When running astern, jingle bell for full speed Astern . 

When running astern, One bell for Stop. 

When running full spead ahead, Four bells for Full Speed 
Astern . 

When running ahead slow, Three bells for Full Speed 
Astern . 

Salutes are given at sea by dipping the ensign. Merchant 
craft dip to men of war, hauling the ensign down two thirds, if 
at the gaff, or to the rail, if at a flagstaff. The ensign should be 
hauled down in plenty of time so that the intention to dip may 
be observed by the vessel saluted and reply made while vessels 
are still nearly abreast. 

Always haul down and hoist the ensign slowly and without 
jerks. Never send it aloft to be broken out. 

Vessels in foreign ports should dress ship on occasions of 
ceremony, on national holidays of the country and of course on 
the prescribed American holidays—the Fourth of July, Wash¬ 
ington’s Birthday, etc. 

VII 

Yacht Routine 

Colors , Etc . Yachts in commission should hoist their colors 
at 8 o’clock a. m., and haul them down at sunset, taking time 
from the senior officer present. 

Before colors in the morning and after colors at sunset, the 
ensign and distinguishing flags should be shown when entering 
port, and should be hauled down immediately on coming to 
anchor. 

At all other times yachts should fly a blue night pennant at the 
main, from colors at sunset until colors the next morning. 

No guns should be fired for colors except by the yacht giving 
the time, nor from colors at sunset until colors the next morning, 
nor on Sunday. 

Absence flags and meal pennants are not considered colors. 

On Decoration Day and occasions of national mourning the 
ensign only should be half-masted. On the death of the owner 
of the yacht, both the Club flag and his private signal should be 


564 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


half-masted, but not the ensign. When mourning is ordered for 
the death of a member of the Club, the Club flag only should be 
half-masted. This rule should apply to yachts both at anchor 
and under way. 

Flags should always be mast-headed before half-masting 
them, and should be mast-headed before hauling them down. 
Saluting with the ensign at half-mast should be done by mast¬ 
heading first. 

Officer in Command of Anchorage. The senior officer present 
should be in command of the anchorage, should give the time for 
colors, make and return salutes, visits, etc. 

His yacht should remain the station vessel until a senior to 
him in rank arrives and assumes the command of the anchorage. 

Pennants , Private Signals , Etc. Flag officers should always 
fly their pennants while in commission. 

Yachts, when the owner is not on board, should fly at the 
main starboard spreader, during daytime, a blue flag, rectan¬ 
gular in shape. This flag should never be flown when under 
way. 

Single-masted vessels should fly the private signal of the 
owner when entering a home port, or when approaching other 
yachts at sea; at other times the Club flag, except when with 
the squadron. 

Meal Pennants. A white flag, rectangular in shape, should be 
flown at the main starboard spreader on schooners, and at the 
starboard spreader on single-masted vessels, during the meal 
hours of the owner. 

A red pennant pointed in shape should be flown at the fore¬ 
port spreader on schooners, and at the port spreader on single- 
masted vessels, during the meal hours of the crew. A white 
light should be displayed on starboard spreader after sunset and 
during owner’s meal hours. 

Lights. Commodore. From colors at sunset until sunrise the 
Commodore should show, when on board, two blue lights, per¬ 
pendicularly, at the stern; when absent, one blue light should 
be shown. 

Vice-Commodore. The Vice-Commodore should show lights 
as provided for the Commodore, substituting red lights instead 
of blue. 


THE BRIDGE 


565 


Captains. Captains, when on board, should show a white 
light under the main boom; when absent this light should be 
extinguished. 

Salutes. All salutes should be returned in kind. 

The following rules should not apply to yachts leaving for, or 
returning from a day’s sail. 

Yachts should salute vessels of the United States Navy by 
dipping the ensign once. 

The Commodore, on entering port to join the squadron, should 
be saluted, on coming to anchor, by the yachts present. On all 
other occasions the Commodore should be saluted, on coming 
to anchor, by the officer in command. 

Junior flag officers should be saluted, on coming to anchor, 
by the officer in command unless the latter be a senior in rank, 
in which case they should salute him. 

Captains should on all occasions salute the officer in command. 

The salute from yachts entering port should be made by 
dipping the ensign once, or by firing a gun or letting go anchor. 

The senior officer, when leaving the anchorage, excepting 
temporarily, should indicate the transfer of command to the 
next in rank by firing a gun on getting under way. All other 
yachts should salute the officer in command. 

All visits should be made according to rank. 

Yachts, passing one another, should always exchange salutes 
by dipping the ensign once, juniors saluting first. Steam whistles 
should never be used to make salutes. 

The salute to yachts entering port, entitled to a salute, should 
be made by dipping the ensign once, or by firing a gun, when they 
let go anchor. 

An official salute to a foreign club should be made by firing a 
gun, with the flag of the foreign club at the for© on schooners 
and steamers, and at the main on single-masted vessels; or, in 
the absence of such flag, by half-masting the Club flag and firing 
a gun. When the salute has been returned, or a reasonable 
time for its return allowed, the flag should be hauled down, and 
the Club flag hoisted again. 

The salute from or to yachts arriving after sunset, or on 
Sunday, should be made immediately after colors on the fol¬ 
lowing morning. 


566 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


When a flag officer makes an official visit, a gun should be 
fired, with his pennant at the fore on schooners and steamers, 
and at the main on single-masted vessels, while he remains on 
board. 

A yacht, acting as judges’ boat, should not be saluted during a 
race. 

The quarter-deck should always be saluted by lifting the cap 
on coming on board or from below. 

With the Squadron. Yachts should report to the commanding 
officer on joining the squadron, and should obtain his permission 
before leaving it. 

When under way with the squadron, firing guns and signalling 
should be avoided, except when joining or parting company, or 
when repeating signals. 

Passing at Sea. When squadrons of different clubs meet at 
sea, salutes should be exchanged only by the commanding 
officers. 

Salutes from single yachts at sea should only be answered by 
the flag-ship. 

Single-masted vessels should fly the private signal of the 
owner when under way with the squadron; when at anchor, the 
Club flag. 

When a foreign yacht arrives, the senior officer present should 
send on board, without regard to rank, a tender of the civilities 
of the Club. 

Entering a Foreign Port. Yachts should salute on entering 
port in the home waters of a foreign club, where any of its fleet 
are lying. After the tender of civilities has been made, owners 
of the entering yachts should visit the officer in command of the 
anchorage. All other visits should be made according to rank,— 
visits to their equals in rank being made by the owners of the 
entering yachts. 

The time for colors in the home waters of a foreign club should 
be given with its senior flag officer present. 

The term “ foreign ” should be understood as applying to all 
other clubs outside of the waters in which a club is stationed. 

Boat Service. The order of entering and leaving boats is, 
juniors enter first and leave last. 

Flag officers and the Fleet-Captain should fly their pennants, 


THE BRIDGE 


567 


and Captains their private signals, when in their boats; mem¬ 
bers, the Club flag. After sunset a white light should be shown 
at the bow. 

Passing one another, juniors should salute seniors by raising 
the cap. 

Every boat approaching a yacht at night should be hailed. 

The answer of the Commodore when intending to board, 
should be “ Commodore; ” for Junior flag officers, and fleet- 
captains, “Flag;” for captains and members, “Ay, ay;” 
for captains returning on board, the name of their yacht; for 
visitors, “Visitors;” for sailing-masters, etc., “No, No,” 
using the port side; for passing boats, “ Passing.” 

Church Pennant (white triangular, with blue cross) is the only 
flag ever displayed above the ensign, and only during divine 
service, with Yacht at anchor. 

The above section may seem out of place in Standard Seaman¬ 
ship —but every sailor in the merchant marine would like to be 
a yacht owner some day, and every yacht sailor aims to be a 
deep-water sailor—so we try to be of use to all. 


VIII 

The Log Book 

The writing up of the log book is an important part of the 
work of an officer. Great care should be exercised in per¬ 
forming this duty as the original entries (without erasures) are 
of great value when points of law are being decided with respect 
to the ship or voyage. Care should be taken to enter every¬ 
thing having to do with the state of the weather and the work of 
the vessel, the relief of lookouts, the names of men on lookout, 
etc. The watch officer should practice the art of concise writing, 
sticking to facts. The log book entries should always be signed. 

The Official Log is generally another book kept by the Master 
in which certain entries are made according to law. Men are 
“ logged ” in this book. Deaths are recorded, etc. Below are 
the exact entries required as stated in the U. S. Navigation 
Laws. These entries must be made by the Master himself, or 
at his direction. 


568 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


First. Every legal conviction of any member of his crew, and 
the punishment inflicted. 

Second. Every offense committed by any member of his 
crew for which it is intended to prosecute, or to enforce a for¬ 
feiture, together with such statement concerning the reading 
over such entry, and concerning the reply, if any, made to the 
charge, as is required by the provisions of section forty-five 
hundred and ninety-seven. 

Third. Every offense for which punishment is inflicted on 
board, and the punishment inflicted. 

Fourth. A statement of the conduct, character, and quali¬ 
fications of each of his crew; or a statement that he declines to 
give an opinion of such particulars. 

Fifth. Every case of illness or injury happening to any 
member of the crew, with the nature thereof, and the medical 
treatment. 

Sixth . Every case of death happening on board, with the 
cause thereof. 

Seventh. Every birth happening on board, with the sex of the 
infant, and the names of the parents. 

Eighth. Every marriage taking place on board, with the 
names and ages of the parties. 

Ninth. The name of every seaman or apprentice who ceases 
to be a member of the crew otherwise than by death, with the 
place, time, manner, and cause thereof. 

Tenth. The wages due to any seaman or apprentice who dies 
during the voyage, and the gross amount of all deductions to be 
made therefrom. 

Eleventh. The sale of the effects of any seaman or apprentice 
who dies during the voyage, including a statement of each article 
sold, and the sum received for it. 

Twelfth. In every case of collision in which it is practicable 
so to do, the master shall, immediately after the occurrence, 
cause a statement thereof, and of the circumstances under which 
the same occurred, to be entered in the official log-book. Such 
entry shall be made in the manner prescribed in section forty- 
two hundred and ninety-one, and failure to make such entry 
shall subject the offender to the penalties prescribed by section 
forty-two hundred and ninety-two. (R. S., 4290; Feb. 14, 1900.) 

Miscellaneous Log Book Data 
Bell Time 

The twenty-four hours are divided on board ship into seven 
parts, and the crew is divided into two parts or watches, desig¬ 
nated Port and Starboard Watches. Each watch are on duty 


THE BRIDGE 


569 


four hours, except from 4 to 8 p. m., which time is divided into 
two watches of two hours each, called Dog Watches, by means 
of which the watches are changed every day, and each watch 
gets a turn of eight hours , rest at night. First Watch , 8 p. m. 
to midnight; Middle Watch , midnight to 4 a. m.; Morning 
Watch , 4 to 8 a. m.; Forenoon Watch , 8 a. m. to noon; After - 
noon Watch , noon to 4 p. m.; First Dog Watch f 4 to 6 p. m.; 
Second Dog Watch , 6 to 8 p. m. In the French service there 
are no Dog Watches, but there are two watches of 6 hours each. 

The British custom is to strike the bells 1, 2, 3, in the two 
hours of the second day watch. 

The Bell is Struck Every Half Hour to Indicate the Time 


1 Bell, 

12.30 

a. m. 

1 Bell, 

12.30 p 

. m. 


2 Bells, 

1.00 

a 

2 Bells, 

1.00 

a 


3 

a 

1.30 

a 

3 

a 

1.30 

a 


4 

a 

2.00 

a 

4 

a 

2.00 

a 


5 

it 

2.30 

a 

5 

a 

2.30 

a 


6 

a 

3.00 

a 

6 

a 

3.00 

a 


7 

a 

3.30 

a 

7 

a 

3.30 

a 


8 

it 

4.00 

a 

8 

a 

4.00 

a 


1 Bell, 

4.30 

a 

1 Bell, 

4.30 

a ) 


2 Bells, 

5.00 

a 

2 Bells, 

5.00 

a 

First 
- Dog 

3 

it 

5.30 

a 

3 

a 

5.30 

a 

Watch 

4 

a 

6.00 

a 

4 

a 

6.00 

a 


5 

a 

6.30 

a 

5 

a 

6.30 

a 


6 

a 

7.00 

a 

6 

a 

7.00 

a 

Second 

7 

a 

7.30 

a 

7 

a 

7.30 

a 

• Dog 
Watch 

8 

a 

8.00 

a 

8 

a 

8.00 

a 


1 Bell, 

8.30 

it 

1 Bell, 

8.30 

a 


2 Bells, 

9.00 

a 

2 Bells, 

9.00 

a 


3 

a 

9.30 

a 

3 

a 

9.30 

a 


4 

a 

10.00 

a 

4 

a 

10.00 

a 


5 

a 

10.30 

a 

5 

a 

10.30 

a 


6 

a 

11.00 

a 

6 

a 

11.00 

a 


7 

a 

11.30 

a 

7 

a 

11.30 

a 


8 

a 

12.00 

noon. 

8 

a 

12.00 night 



Formula for Recording State of Weather 
B denotes Blue Sky, z.e., clear or hazy atmosphere. 
C “ Cloudy—detached opening clouds. 




570 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


D denotes Drizzling Rain. 

F “ Fog—FF Thick Fog. 

G “ Gloomy—dark weather. 

H “ Hail. 

L “ Lightning. 

M “ Misty or Hazy—so as to interrupt view. 

O “ Overcast— i.e. y whole sky covered with an impervious 

cloud. 

P “ Passing showers. 

Q “ Squally. 

R “ Rain—continuous rain. 

S “ Snow. 

T “ Thunder. 

U “ Ugly with a heavy appearance of the weather. 

V “ Visibility of distant objects. 

. Dot under any letter, an extraordinary degree. 

By the combination of these letters all the ordinary phe¬ 
nomena of the weather may be recorded with certainty and 
brevity. 

BCM—Blue sky, with detached opening clouds, but hazy round 
the horizon. 

GV—Gloomy dark weather, but distant objects remarkably 
visible. 

Numerals for Recording State of Sea 


0 Calm. 

1 Very Smooth. 

2 Smooth. 

3 Slight. 

4 Moderate. 


5 Rather Rough. 

6 Rough. 

7 High. 

8 Very High. 

9 Tremendous. 


IV 

Preparing For Sea 

Under the law the Master is held responsible for the sea¬ 
worthy condition of a vessel about to proceed on a voyage.* He 

* The executive committee of the Board of Supervising Inspectors, Steam¬ 
boat-Inspection Service, at a meeting held on October 9, 1915, amended the 
general rules and regulations, ocean and coastwise, and for lakes, bays, and 
sounds, relative to the covering of hatches. The amendments were approved 
by the Secretary of Commerce on October 12, 1915, and now have the force 




THE BRIDGE 


571 


must satisfy himself that everything is in order, hatches battened 
down and all secure. In fact the whole business of going to sea 
hinges on this important point of responsibility. The Chief 
Mate is charged with the direct responsibility and^the following 
reminders are printed here as a matter of importance. 



A heavy sea coming on hoard off Cape Pillar. Photograph taken by 
Captain H. C. Hostler on hoard the S. S. Santa Rosalia, a U. S. Steel Products 
Company steamer. 

of law. The rule for ocean and coastwise vessels has been amended so as 
to read as follows: 

“ It shall be the duty of the Master of any vessel under the jurisdiction of 
the Steamboat-Inspection Service to assure himself, before proceeding to sea, 
that all the cargo hatches of his vessel are properly covered and the covers 
secured. The covers of all exposed hatches shall be made water-tight by 
the use of pliable gaskets or by heavy canvas tarpaulins, thoroughly covering 
the hatch cover and firmly secured by iron or steel bars extending from side 
to side or end to end of the hatchway, which bars shall be securely fastened 
by toggles or wedges made of hardwood or by the use of efficient screw 
fastenings. Failure by the Master of any vessel to observe this regulation 
shall be sufficient cause for suspension or revocation of his license on a 
charge of inattention to his duty. 1 * 

The rule for vessels navigating lakes, bays, and sounds has been amended 
so as to read as follows: 

“ It shall be the duty of the Master of any vessel under the jurisdiction of 
the Steamboat-Inspection Service, and which is carrying cargo, to assure 
himself before leaving port that all the cargo hatches of his vessel are properly 
covered and the covers secured.” The remainder of the rule being the same 
as above. 







572 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Before leaving, if alongside, the engines may have to be 
turned over. The Engineer in charge should notify the Chief 
Mate and the necessary adjustments must be made to lines, 
gangways, hoses, or any other connection between the vessel 
and the wharf. Watch out for floating logs near propeller . 
Have a hand standing by engine, telegraph and bridge. 

The order to “single up ” is usually given shortly before 
leaving. All extra lines are taken on board. Rat guards may be 
taken off and only the single parts of bow and stern lines and a 
few springs kept out. It is a good plan, where no men are 
available on the dock, to carry the splice inboard and a bight 
around the bollards on the dock. The lines can then be let go 
and hauled in from the vessel’s deck. Sometimes a slip toggle 
can be used, the toggle being attached to a heaving line. Great 
care must be taken with the lines leading from the quarter not to 
get them foul of the propellers. 

Hatches must be put on and caulked if off for a wet passage, 
and treble tarpaulins battened down. 

Booms should be shipped in the cradels and lashed or clamped 
in place. Topping lifts should be unrove, or at least unhooked 
and carried into the eyebolts on the mast table. It is well to 
unreeve all manila cargo gear and stow it below on a voyage of 
any length, at least on a voyage across the Atlantic. Where 
gear is left standing abaft the funnels it should be covered with 
smoke covers. 

All handling lines should be triced up to dry or coiled on grat¬ 
ings and then stowed below when thoroughly aired. 

If tow boats are to be used, fenders should be handy. 

On the bridge it is necessary to have all of the navigating gear 
in order. The whistle should be tried and freed from water 
before getting into the stream. The long blast on pulling out 
usually does this. The telegraphs should be tried on all points, 
the hand leads and lines should be coiled in the chains and men 
ready to heave them if necessary. The log should be ready to 
stream, and the signal number bent on the halyards and ready. 
All proper flags should be mastheaded. 

As soon as the vessel gets way on her haul down the blue 
peter, and the jack, if these flags are flown. 

Never fly torn flags, especially the ensign. It may be soiled 
and old, but never have it frayed. Torn flags are an abomination 




THE BRIDGE 


573 


associated with flagstaffs ashore where they often stay up until 
they fall apart. It is a good idea to have the Quartermasters 
uncover when they haul down the ensign at sunset and hoist it 
at eight bells in the morning, it instills respect for the flag. 

Always be certain to have a long boat line ready for the pilot 
and his ladder handy on the lee side. 

Be sure the running lights are working before it gets dark. 
Have spare oil lights ready. 

On approaching port a great many things must be attended to. 
Warn the first assistant in time so that all ashes can be got out 
before getting into restricted waters. Have the steward throw 
overboard all galley waste and get salt water tank filled while the 
water is clean. 

Have handling lines up and coiled down clear fore and aft. 

Have heaving lines handy. 

Prepare lead lines and stands. Have leadsmen in the chains. 

Have signal letters bent on. 

Have pilot ladder and boat line ready, on lee side. 

Have gangway ready. 

Have cargo gear rove off if weather permits. 

Have anchors ready to let go. 

Have steam on the windlass and winches ready for lifting 
booms and handling anchor. Have steering gear clear. 

See that the capstans are working. 

Find out, if possible, which side is to be next the wharf, if 
going alongside. What hatches are to work. 

Haul in log when past the last mark, lighthouse lightship, 
buoy, etc. 

See precautions about hauling in log page 491. 

Know the customs and quarantine regulations. Be certain 
that the vessel observes all local rules. Consult with Pilot and 
Harbor Master when in a strange port. 

Set all watches for the night and have liberty arranged before¬ 
hand, so there will be no misunderstanding when the vessel 
gets in. 

All these things should be looked after from the bridge. The 
Officer of the Watch never leaves the bridge, unless relieved 
by the Master. 


CHAPTER 16 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 

I 

Foreword 

A great deal has been written on the rules of the road at sea. 
David Wright Smith, in “ The Law Relating to the Rule of the 
Road at Sea ” cites more than two hundred and fifty cases to 
illustrate the many ways in which vessels may come to grief 
through ignorance, misunderstanding, or unavoidable accident 
when meeting on the sea. It has become the fashion to treat 
the International Rules of the Road at Sea to a sort of literary 
vivisection, interlarding them with notes and “ explanations ” 
that, to the mind of the present writer, seem to do anything but 
clarify them. The best brains available were bent upon the 
task of producing the present International Rules, and as they 
stand today they are remarkable for their clear language, un¬ 
mistakable in meaning and economical in words. 

Ninety per cent of collisions at sea grow out of careless dis¬ 
regard for the rules, or out of plain ignorance of them or of their 
meaning. A man who will not study the rules and know them, 
and keep on refreshing his memory, will find no short cut method 
to help him out. 

The U. S. Inland Rules of the United States have wisely 
followed the exact wording of the International Rules except in a 
few places where conditions necessitate a change. 

The Pilot Rules , promulgated by the Board of Supervising 
Inspectors of Steam Vessels, supplement the Inland Rules. 
Their most important departure from the International Rules is 
the adoption of the danger or four whistle signal. This signal 
should be carefully studied under its proper place in the Pilot 
Rules. It should really have a place in the International Rules. 
(See page. 614) 

To avoid confusion in the mind of the reader, and to present 
the whole body of the rules of the road, the following plan is 
followed in S tandard Seamanship: 

574 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


575 


Where the International and Inland Rules are identical the 
text is leaded and is captioned—International and Inland Rules. 

Where International Rules are different from Inland Rules, 
or are not contained in Inland Rules , the text is printed solid and 
is captioned—International Only. 

Where Inland Rules are different, or are not contained in 
International Rules the text is in italics and is captioned— 
Inland Only. 

The whole of the two sets of rules is printed in this way and 
in proper sequence so that the student may know, at a glance, 
when he is reading rules applicable to both high seas and U. S. 
inland waters, or to either one alone. At the same time he may 
conveniently note their points of difference. Also, and this is 
important, the book is not cluttered up with a lot of repetition. 

The Pilot Rules are printed separately, at the end, together 
with the situation diagrams published by the Government. 

Rules of the road cannot be learned from a book. 

These vital rules are only learned at sea, where the constant 
passing of vessels, both sail and steam, drives home to the 
young sailor the meaning of the rules. He must memorize the 
rules from the book, and visualize them at sea. The quarter¬ 
master, cadet, junior officer, in fact any one on the bridge, should 
carefully observe the manner in which the Master, or officer of 
the watch, acts in accordance with the rules. Then, when the 
day, or night , comes for him to take over his first watch, he will 
act with experience drawn from observation. On this important 
occasion the conscientious man has a feeling of great responsi¬ 
bility resting upon him. 

Innumerable diagrams have been drawn to show the many 
situations that may arise at sea and these, in theory at least, are 
correct, but the present writer is of the opinion, and many 
officers concur with him, that such paper diagrams, red, green 
and yellow spots, and inch square smudges of black (representing 
night at sea) are utterly worthless. If a man has not enough 
intelligence to understand the full meaning of the Rules of the 
Road, as printed, “ having careful regard to the existing circum¬ 
stances and conditions,” he had better remain off the bridge of a 
ship. 


21 


576 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Therefore the young mariner is urged to study these im¬ 
portant but simple rules with a better appreciation of their 
beautiful clearness. He should know them word for word. 

The writer was under a skipper once who had a habit of 
bobbing up on the bridge and asking the officer of the watch a 
sharp embarrassing question or two on the rules. An officer who 
could not answer correctly a second time was certain to find 
other employment. As a matter of fact, nine men out of ten, 
so this ancient skipper said, were stuck at the first question. 
It is a good way for the “ old man ” to be certain that his watch 
officers keep brushed up on the rules. It is the duty of the 
Master to satisfy himself that all his watch officers are proficient 
in the Rules of the Road. 

Many excellent works have been written in the Rules of the 
Road, works going into much detail in setting forth the “ cases ” 
wherein learned jurists have dissected some thrilling moment 
when ships have crashed at sea. W. H. LaBoyteaux in an 
exceedingly important and interesting volume of two hundred 
and forty odd pages called “ The Rule of the Road At Sea ” 
cites some three hundred and more cases. This is a recent 
book, published in 1920, and is about the best thing along these 
lines. As important supplementary reading, for masters and 
watch officers, it should be very valuable. 

It is mighty interesting to read of the mistakes and mishaps 
of others, but it is exceedingly unpleasant to sit in a stuffy court 
room and have your own mistakes raked over the coals of 
judgment. 

Lawyers write these useful books but it is pretty tough to 
listen to them talk for days at a time. Every time a vessel goes 
to sea the captain and each officer who stands a watch is liable 
to wind up in the clutches of this legal inquisition. His only 
safety lies in keeping wide awake every moment of the time, 
with the rules of the road, the maneuvering power of his own 
vessel, and of other vessels both sail and steam, constantly in 
mind. 

The reader will now be left alone with the rules. Study them 
thoroughly, then read them over at least once a month from end 
to end; make it your monthly office. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


577 


II 

The Rules 
International Only 
I.—Enacting Clause, Scope, and Penalty 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
the following regulations for preventing collisions at sea shall 
be followed by all public and private vessels of the United States 
upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith, navi¬ 
gable by seagoing vessels. 

Art. 30. Nothing in these rules shall interfere with the opera¬ 
tion of a special rule, duly made by local authority, relative to 
the navigation of any harbor, river, or inland waters. 

Inland Only 

/.—Enacting Clause, Scope, and Penalty 

Whereas the provisions of chapter eight hundred and two of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety, and the amendments 
thereto, adopting regulations for preventing collisions at 
sea [i. e., international rules], apply to all waters of the 
United States connected with the high seas navigable by 
sea-going vessels, except so far as the navigation of any 
harbor, river, or inland waters is regulated by special rules 
duly made by local authority; and 
Whereas it is desirable that the regulations relating to the 
navigation of all harbors, rivers, and inland waters of the 
United States, except the Great Lakes and their con¬ 
necting and tributary waters as far east as Montreal and 
the Red River of the North and rivers emptying into the 
Gulf of Mexico and their tributaries, shall be stated in one 
act: Therefore, 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
following regulations for preventing collisions shall be followed 
by all vessels navigating all harbors, rivers, and inland waters 
of the United States, except the Great Lakes and their con¬ 
necting and tributary waters as far east as Montreal and the 
Red River of the North and rivers emptying into the Gulf of 
Mexico and their tributaries, and are hereby declared special 
rules duly made by local authority: 

Sec. 3 . That every pilot, engineer, mate, or master of any 
steam vessel, and every master or mate of any barge or canal 
boat, who neglects or refuses to observe the provisions of this 


578 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


act, or the regulations established in pursuance of the preceding 
section [see section 2, page 581], shall be liable to a penalty of 
fifty dollars, and for all damages sustained by any passenger in 
his person or baggage by such neglect or refusal: Provided, 
That nothing herein shall relieve any vessel, owner, or corpora¬ 
tion from any liability incurred by reason of such neglect or 
refusal . 

Sec. 4. That every vessel that shall be navigated without 
complying with the provisions of this act shall be liable to a 
penalty of two hundred dollars, one-half to go to the informer, 
for which sum the vessel so navigated shall be liable and may 
be seized and proceeded against by action in any district court 
of the United States having jurisdiction of the offense . 

International and Inland Rules 
Preliminary Definitions 

In the following rules every steam vessel which is under sail 
and not under steam is to be considered a sailing vessel, and 
every vessel under steam, whether under sail or not, is to be 
considered a steam vessel. 

The words “ steam vessel ” shall include any vessel pro¬ 
pelled by machinery. 

A vessel is “ under way,” within the meaning of these rules, 
when she is not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground. 

II.—Lights, and So Forth 

The word “ visible ” in these rules when applied to lights 
shall mean visible on a dark night with a clear atmosphere. 

Article 1. The rules concerning lights shall be complied with 
in all weathers from sunset to sunrise, and during such time 
no other lights which may be mistaken for the prescribed lights 
shall be exhibited. 


Steam Vessels—Masthead Light 

Art. 2. A steam vessel when under way shall carry—(a) On 
or in front of the foremast, or if a vessel without a foremast, 
then in the fore part of the vessel, at a height above the hull of not 
less than twenty feet, and if the breadth of the vessel exceeds 
twenty feet, then at a height above the hull not less than such 
breadth, so, however, that the light need not be carried at a 
greater height above the hull than forty feet, a bright white light, 




RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


579 


so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the 
horizon of twenty points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the 
light ten points on each side of the vessel, namely, from right 
ahead to two points abaft the beam on either side, and of such a 
character as to be visible at a distance of at least five miles. 

Steam Vessels—Side Lights 

(b) On the starboard side a green light so constructed as to 
show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points 
of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to 
two points abaft the beam on the starboard side, and of such a 
character as to be visible at a distance of at least two miles. 

(c) On the port side a red light so constructed as to show an 
unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the 
compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two 
points abaft the beam on the port side, and of such a character 
as to be visible at a distance of at least two miles. 

(d) The said green and red side lights shall be fitted with 
inboard screens projecting at least three feet forward from the 
light, so as to prevent these lights from being seen across the 
bow. 

Steam Vessels—Range Lights 

(e) A steam vessel when under way may carry an additional 
white light similar in construction to the light mentioned in sub¬ 
division (a). These two lights shall be so placed in line with the 
keel that one shall be at least fifteen feet higher than the other, 
and in such a position with reference to each other that the 
lower light shall be forward of the upper one. The vertical 
distance between these lights shall be less than the horizontal 
distance. 

Inland Only 

(/) All steam vessels (except seagoing vessels and ferry¬ 
boats), shall carry in addition to green and red lights required 
by article two (b), (c), and screens as required by article two 
(d), a central range of two white lights; the after light being 
carried at an elevation at least fifteen feet above the light at 
the head of the vessel . The headlight shall be so constructed 
as to show an unbroken light through twenty points of the 
compass, namely, from right ahead to two points abaft the 
beam on either side of the vessel, and the after light so as to 
show all around the horizon . 


580 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


International and Inland 
Steam Vessels when Towing 

Art. 3. A steam vessel when towing another vessel shall, in 
addition to her side lights, carry two bright white lights in a 
vertical line one over the other, not less than six feet apart, and 
when towing more than one vessel shall carry an additional 
bright white light six feet above or below such lights, if the 
length of the tow measuring from the stern of the towing vessel 
to the stern of the last vessel towed exceeds six hundred feet. 
Each of these lights shall be of the same construction and char¬ 
acter, and shall be carried in the same position as the white light 
mentioned in article two (a), excepting the additional light, which 
may be carried at a height of not less than fourteen feet above 
the hull. 

Such steam vessel may carry a small white light abaft the 
funnel or aftermast for the vessel towed to steer by, but such 
light shall not be visible forward of the beam. 

International Only 
Special Lights 

Art. 4. (a) A vessel which from any accident is not under 

command shall carry at the same height as a white light men¬ 
tioned in article two (a), where they can best be seen, and if a 
steam vessel in lieu of that light two red lights, in a vertical line 
one over the other, not less than six feet apart, and of such a 
character as to be visible all around the horizon at a distance of 
at least two miles; and shall by day carry in a vertical line one 
over the other, not less than six feet apart, where they can best 
be seen, two black balls or shapes, each two feet in diameter. 

(b) A vessel employed in laying or in picking up a telegraph 
cable shall carry in the same position as the white light men¬ 
tioned in article two (a), and if a steam vessel in lieu of that light 
three lights in a vertical line one over the other not less than six 
feet apart. The highest and lowest of these lights shall be red, 
andJ;he^middle light shall be white, and they shall be of such a 
character as to be visible all around the horizon, at a distance 
of at least two miles. By day she shall carry in a vertical line, 
one over the other, not less than six feet apart, where they can 
best be seen, three shapes not less than two feet in diameter, 
of which*the highest and lowest shall be globular in shape and 
red in color, and the middle one diamond in shape and white. 

(c) The vessels referred to in this article, when not making 
way through the water, shall not carry the side lights, but when 
making way shall carry them. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


581 


(d) The lights and shapes required to be shown by this article 
are to be taken by other vessels as signals that the vessel showing 
them is not under command and can not therefore get out of 
the way. 

These signals are not signals of vessels in distress and re¬ 
quiring assistance. Such signals are contained in article thirty- 
one. 

International and Inland 
Lights for Sailing Vessels and Vessels in Tow 
Art. 5. A sailing vessel under way and any vessel being 
towed shall carry the same lights as are prescribed by article 
two for a steam vessel under way, with the exception of the 
white lights mentioned therein, which they shall never carry. 

Inland Only 

Lights for Ferryboats, Barges, and Canal Boats in Tow 

Sec. 2. That the supervising inspectors of steam vessels 
and the Supervising Inspector-General shall establish such rules 
to be observed by steam vessels in passing each other and as 
to the lights to be carried by ferryboats and by barges and 
canal boats when in tow of steam vessels (and as to the lights 
and day signals to be carried by vessels, dredges of all types, 
and vessels working on wrecks by [or] other obstruction to 
navigation or moored for submarine operations, or made fast 
to a sunken object which may drift with the tide or be towed) 
not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as they from 
time to time may deem necessary for safety, which rules when 
approved by the Secretary of Commerce are hereby declared 
special rules duly made by local authority, as provided for in 
article thirty of chapter eight hundred and two of the laws of 
eighteen hundred and ninety. Two printed copies of such rules 
shall be furnished to such ferryboats ( barges, dredges, canal 
boats, vessels working on wrecks) and steam vessels, which 
rules shall be kept posted up in conspicuous places in such 
vessels {barges, dredges, and boats). 

International and Inland 
Lights for Small Vessels 

Art. 6. Whenever, as in the case of small vessels under way 
during bad weather, the green and red side lights can not be 
fixed, these lights shall be kept at hand, lighted and ready for 
use; and shall, on the approach of or to other vessels, be ex¬ 
hibited on their respective sides in sufficient time to prevent 


582 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


collision, in such manner as to make them most visible, and so 
that the green light shall not be seen on the port side nor the red 
light on the starboard side, nor, if practicable, more than two 
points abaft the beam on their respective sides. To make the 
use of these portable lights more certain and easy the lanterns 
containing them shall each be painted outside with the color of 
the light they respectively contain, and shall be provided with 
proper screens. 

International Only 

Lights for Small Steam and Sail Vessels and Open Boats 

Art. 7 . Steam vessels of less than forty, and vessels under 
oars or sails of less than twenty tons gross tonnage, respectively, 
and rowing boats, when under way, shall not be required to 
carry the lights mentioned in article two (a), (b), and (c), but if 
they do not carry them they shall be provided with the following 
lights: 

First. Steam vessels of less than forty tons shall carry—• 

(a) In the fore part of the vessel, or on or in front of the 
funnel, where it can best be seen, and at a height above the 
gunwale of not less than nine feet, a bright white light con¬ 
structed and fixed as prescribed in article two (a), and of such a 
character as to be visible at a distance of at least two miles. 

(b) Green and red side lights constructed and fixed as pre¬ 
scribed in article two (b) and (c), and of such a character as to 
be visible at a distance of at least one mile, or a combined 
lantern showing a green light and a red light from right ahead 
to two points abaft the beam on their respective sides. Such 
lanterns shall be carried not less than three feet below the 
white light. 

Second. Small steamboats, such as are carried by seagoing 
vessels, may carry the white light at a less height than nine feet 
above the gunwale, but it shall be carried above the combined 
lantern mentioned in subdivision one (b). 

Third. Vessels under oars or sails of less than twenty tons 
shall have ready at hand a lantern with a green glass on one 
side and a red glass on the other, which, on the approach of or 
to other vessels, shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent 
collision, so that the green light shall not be seen on the port 
side nor the red light on the starboard side. 

International and Inland 

Fourth. Rowing boats, whether under oars or sail, shall have 
ready at hand a lantern showing a white light which shall be 
temporarily exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


583 


The vessels referred to in this article shall not be obliged to 
carry the lights prescribed by article four (a) and article eleven, 
last paragraph. 

Lights for Pilot Vessels 

Art. 8. Pilot vessels when engaged on their station on pilotage 
duty shall not show the lights required for other vessels, but 
shall carry a white light at the masthead, visible all around the 
horizon, and shall also exhibit a flare-up light or flare-up lights 
at short intervals, which shall never exceed fifteen minutes. 

On the near approach of or to other vessels they shall have 
their side lights lighted, ready for use, and shall flash or show 
them at short intervals, to indicate the direction in which they 
are heading, but the green light shall not be shown on the port 
side, nor the red light on the starboard side. 

A pilot vessel of such a class as to be obliged to go alongside 
of a vessel to put a pilot on board may show the white light 
instead of carrying it at the masthead, and may, instead of the 
colored lights above mentioned, have at hand, ready for use, a 
lantern with green glass on the one side and red glass on the 
other, to be used as prescribed above. 

Pilot vessels when not engaged on their station on pilotage 
duty shall carry lights similar to those of other vessels of their 
tonnage. 

A steam pilot vessel, when engaged on her station on pilotage 
duty and in waters of the United States, and not at anchor, shall, 
in addition to the lights required for all pilot boats, carry at a 
distance of eight feet below her white masthead light a red light, 
visible all around the horizon and of such a character as to be 
visible on a dark night with a clear atmosphere at a distance of at 
least two miles, and also the colored side lights required to be 
carried by vessels when under way. 

When engaged on her station on pilotage duty and in waters 
of the United States, and at anchor, she shall carry in addition 
to the lights required for all pilot boats the red light above 
mentioned, but not the colored side lights. When not engaged 
on her station on pilotage duty, she shall carry the same lights 
as other steam vessels. 


584 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


International Only- 
Lights, Etc., of Fishing Vessels 

Art. 9. Fishing vessels and fishing boats, when under way 
and when not required by this article to carry or show the lights 
hereinafter specified, shall carry or show the lights prescribed 
for vessels of their tonnage under way. 

(a) Open boats, by which is to be understood boats not pro¬ 
tected from the entry of sea water by means of a continuous 
deck, when engaged in any fishing at night, with outlying tackle 
extending not more than one hundred and fifty feet horizontally 
from the boat into the seaway, shall carry one all-round white 
light. 

Open boats, when fishing at night, with outlying tackle ex¬ 
tending more than one hundred and fifty feet horizontally from 
the boat into the seaway, shall carry one all-round white light, 
and in addition, on approaching or being approached by other 
vessels, shall show a second white light at least three feet below 
the first light and at a horizontal distance of at least five feet 
away from it in the direction in which the outlying tackle is 
attached. 

(b) Vessels and boats, except open boats as defined in sub¬ 
division (a), when fishing with drift nets, shall, so long as the 
nets are wholly or partly in the water, carry two white lights 
where they can best be seen. Such lights shall be placed so 
that the vertical distance between them shall be not less than 
six feet and not more than fifteen feet, and so that the horizontal 
distance between them, measured in a line with the keel, shall 
be not less than five feet and not more than ten feet. The lower 
of these two lights shall be in the direction of the nets, and both 
of them shall be of such a character as to show all around the 
horizon, and to be visible at a distance of not less than three 
miles. 

Within the Mediterranean Sea and in the seas bordering the 
coasts of Japan and Korea sailing fishing vessels of less than 
twenty tons gross tonnage shall not be obliged to carry the 
lower of these two lights. Should they, however, not carry it, 
they shall show in the same position (in the direction of the net 
or gear) a white light, visible at a distance of not less than one 
sea mile, on the approach of or to other vessels. 

(c) Vessels and boats, except open boats as defined in sub¬ 
division (a), when line fishing with their lines out and attached 
to or hauling their lines, and when not at anchor or stationary 
within the meaning of subdivision (h), shall carry the same 
lights as vessels fishing with drift nets. When shooting lines, 
or fishing with towing lines, they shall carry the lights prescribed 
for a steam or sailing vessel under way, respectively. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


585 


Within the Mediterranean Sea and in the seas bordering the 
coasts of Japan and Korea sailing fishing vessels of less than 
twenty tons gross tonnage shall not be obliged to carry the lower 
of these two lights. Should they, however, not carry it, they 
shall show in the same position (in the direction of the lines) a 
white light, visible at a distance of not less than one sea mile on 
the approach of or to other vessels. 

(d) Vessels when engaged in trawling, by which is meant the 
dragging of an apparatus along the bottom of the sea— 

First. If steam vessels, shall carry in the same position as the 
white light mentioned in article two (a) a tri-colored lantern so 
constructed and fixed as to show a white light from right ahead 
to two points on each bow, and a green light and a red light over 
an arc of the horizon from two points on each bow to two points 
abaft the beam on the starboard and port sides, respectively; 
and not less than six nor more than twelve feet below the tri¬ 
colored lantern a white light in a lantern, so constructed as to 
show a clear, uniform, and unbroken light all around the horizon. 

Second. If sailing vessels, shall carry a white light in a 
lantern, so constructed as to show a clear, uniform, and unbroken 
light all around the horizon, and shall also, on the approach of 
or to other vessels, show where it can best be seen a white 
flare-up light or torch in sufficient time to prevent collision. 

All lights mentioned in subdivision (d) first and second shall 
be visible at a distance of at least two miles. 

(e) Oyster dredgers and other vessels fishing with dredge 
nets shall carry and show the same lights as trawlers. 

(f) Fishing vessels and fishing boats may at any time use a 
flare-up light in addition to the lights which they are by this 
article required to carry and show, and they may also use 
working lights. 

(g) Every fishing vessel and every fishing boat under one 
hundred and fifty feet in length, when at anchor, shall exhibit a 
white light visible all around the horizon at a distance ofcat least 
one mile. 

Every fishing vessel of one hundred and fifty feet in length 
or upward, when at anchor, shall exhibit a white light visible 
all around the horizon at a distance of at least one mile, and shall 
exhibit a second light as provided for vessels of such length by 
article eleven. 

Should any such vessel, whether under one hundred and fifty 
feet in length or of one hundred and fifty feet in length or upward, 
be attached to a net or other fishing gear, she shall on the ap¬ 
proach of other vessels show an additional white light at least 
three feet below the anchor light, and at a horizontal distance 
of at least five feet away from it in the direction of the net or gear. 

(h) If a vessel or boat when fishing becomes stationary in 


586 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


consequence of her gear getting fast to a rock or other obstruc¬ 
tion, she shall in daytime haul down the day signal required by 
subdivision (k); at night show the light or lights prescribed for a 
vessel at anchor; and during fog, mist, falling snow, or heavy 
rain storms make the signal prescribed for a vessel at anchor. 
(See subdivision (d) and the last paragraph of article fifteen.) 

(i) In fog, mist, falling snow, or heavy rain storms drift-net 
vessels attached to their nets, and vessels when trawling, 
dredging, or fishing with any kind of drag net, and vessels line 
fishing with their lines out, shall, if of twenty tons gross tonnage 
or upward, respectively, at intervals of not more than one 
minute make a blast; if steam vessels, with the whistle or siren, 
and if sailing vessels, with the fog-horn, each blast to be fol¬ 
lowed by ringing the bell. Fishing vessels and boats of less 
than twenty tons gross tonnage shall not be obliged to give the 
above-mentioned signals; but if they do not, they shall make 
some other efficient sound signal at intervals of not more than 
one minute. 

(k) All vessels or boats fishing with nets or lines or trawls, 
when under way, shall in daytime indicate their occupation to an 
approaching vessel by displaying a basket or other efficient signal 
where it can best be seen. If vessels or boats at anchor have 
their gear out, they shall, on the approach of other vessels, show 
the same signal on the side on which those vessels can pass. 

The vessels required by this article to carry or show the lights 
hereinbefore specified shall not be obliged to carry the lights 
prescribed by article four (a) and the last paragraph of article 
eleven. 

Inland Only 

Lights, Etc., of Fishing Vessels 

Art. 9. (a) Fishing vessels of less than ten gross tons, when 

under way and when not having their nets, trawls, dredges, or 
lines in the water, shall not he obliged to carry the colored side 
lights; hut every such vessel shall, in lieu thereof, have ready 
at hand a lantern with a green glass on one side and a red glass 
on the other side, and on approaching to or being approached 
by another vessel such lantern shall be exhibited in sufficient 
time to prevent collision, so that the green light shall not be 
seen on the port side nor the red light on the starboard side . 

(b) All fishing vessels and fishing boats of ten gross tons or 
upward, when under way and when not having their nets, 
trawls, dredges, or lines in the water, shall carry and show the 
same lights as other vessels under way. 

(c) All vessels, when trawling, dredging, or fishing with any 
hind of drag nets or lines, shall exhibit, from some part of the 
vessel where they can be best seen, two lights. One of these 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


587 


lights shall be red and the other shall be white. The red light 
shall be above the white light, and shall be at a vertical distance 
from it of not less than six feet and not more than twelve feet; 
and the horizontal distance between them, if any, shall not be 
more than ten feet. These two lights shall be of such a char¬ 
acter and contained in lanterns of such construction as to be 
visible all round the horizon, the white light a distance of not 
less than three miles and the red light of not less than two miles. 

Lights for Rafts or other Craft not Provided For 

id) Rafts, or other water craft not herein provided for, 
navigating by hand power, horse power, or by the current of 
the river, shall carry one or more good white lights, which shall 
be placed in such manner as shall be prescribed by the Board 
of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. 

International and Inland 
Lights for an Overtaken Vessel 

Art. 10. A vessel which is being overtaken by another shall 
show from her stern to such last-mentioned vessel a white light 
or a flare-up light. 

The white light required to be shown by this article may be 
fixed and carried in a lantern, but in such case the lantern shall 
be so constructed, fitted, and screened that it shall throw an 
unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of twelve points of the 
compass, namely, for six points from right aft on each side of 
the vessel, so as to be visible at a distance of at least one mile. 
Such light shall be carried as nearly as practicable on the same 
level as the side lights. 


Anchor Lights 

Art. 11. A vessel under one hundred and fifty feet in length 
when at anchor shall carry forward, where it can best be seen, 
but at a height not exceeding twenty feet above the hull, a white 
light, in a lantern so constructed as to show a clear, uniform, and 
unbroken light visible all around the horizon at a distance of 
at least one mile. 

A vessel of one hundred and fifty feet or upwards in length 
when at anchor shall carry in the forward part of the vessel, at a 
height of not less than twenty and not exceeding forty feet above 
the hull, one such light, and at or near the stern of the vessel, 


588 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


and at such a height that it shall be not less than fifteen feet 
lower than the forward light, another such light. 

The length of a vessel shall be deemed to be the length 
appearing in her certificate of registry. 

International Only 

A vessel aground in or near a fairway shall carry the above 
light or lights and the two red lights prescribed by article four (a). 

International and Inland 
Special Signals 

Art. 12. Every vessel may, if necessary in order to attract 
attention, in addition to the lights which she is by these rules 
required to carry, show a flare-up light or use any detonating 
signal that can not be mistaken for a distress signal. 

Naval Lights and Recognition Signals 

Art. 13. Nothing in these rules shall interfere with the 
operation of any special rules made by the Government of any 
nation with respect to additional station and signal lights for 
two or more ships of war or for vessels sailing under convoy, 
or with the exhibition of recognition signals adopted by ship¬ 
owners, which have been authorized by their respective Govern¬ 
ments and duly registered and published. 

Steam Vessel under Sail by Day 

Art. 14. A steam vessel proceeding under sail only, but 
having her funnel up, shall carry in daytime, forward, where it 
can best be seen, one black ball or shape two feet in diameter. 

III.—Sound Signals for Fog, and So Forth 
Preliminary 

Art. 15. All signals prescribed by this article for vessels 
under way shall be given: 

First. By “ steam vessels ” on the whistle or siren. 

Second. By “ sailing vessels ” and “ vessels towed ” on the 
fog horn. 

The words “ prolonged blast ” used in this article shall mean 
a blast of from four to six seconds duration. 

A steam vessel shall be provided with an efficient whistle or 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


589 


siren, sounded by steam or by some substitute for steam, so 
placed that the sound may not be intercepted by any obstruction, 
and with an efficient fog horn, to be sounded by mechanical 
means, and also with an efficient bell. 

International Only 

In all cases where the rules require a bell to be used a drum 
may be substituted on board Turkish vessels, or a gong where 
such articles are used on board small seagoing vessels. 

International and Inland 

A sailing vessel of twenty tons gross tonnage or upward shall 
be provided with a similar fog horn and bell. 

In a fog, mist, falling snow, or heavy rain storms, whether by 
day or night, the signals described in this article shall be used 
as follows, namely: 

Steam Vessel under Way 

(a) A steam vessel having way upon her shall sound, at 
intervals of not more than two minutes, a prolonged blast. 

Inland Only 

Steam Vessel under Way 

(a) A steam vessel under way shall sound , at intervals of not 
more than one minute ) a prolonged blast. 

International Only 

(b) A steam vessel under way, but stopped, and having no 
way upon her, shall sound, at intervals of not more than two 
minutes, two prolonged blasts, with an interval of about one 
second between. 

International and Inland 

Sail Vessel under Way 

(c) A sailing vessel under way shall sound, at intervals of not 
more than one minute, when on the starboard tack, one blast; 
when on the port tack, two blasts in succession, and when with 
the wind abaft the beam, three blasts in succession. 

Vessels at Anchor or Not Under Way 

(d) A vessel when at anchor shall, at intervals of not more than 
one minute, ring the bell rapidly for about five seconds. 

Vessels Towing or Towed 

(e) A vessel when towing, a vessel employed in laying or in 
picking up a telegraph cable, and a vessel under way, which is 


590 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


unable to get out of the way of an approaching vessel through 
being not under command, or unable to maneuver as required 
by the rules, shall, instead of the signals prescribed in sub¬ 
divisions (a) and (c) of this article, at intervals of not more than 
two minutes, sound three blasts in succession, namely: One 
prolonged blast followed by two short blasts. A vessel towed 
may give this signal and she shall not give any other. 

International Only 
Small Sailing Vessels and Boats 

Sailing vessels and boats of less than twenty tons gross 
tonnage shall not be obliged to give the above-mentioned signals, 
but, if they do not, they shall make some other efficient sound 
signal at intervals of not more than one minute. 

Inland Only 

Rafts or Other Craft Not Provided For 

(/) All rafts or other water craft, not herein provided for, 
navigating by hand-power, horse-power, or by the current of 
the river, shall sound a blast of the fog-horn, or equivalent 
signal, at intervals of not more than one minute . 

International and Inland 
Speed in Fog 

Art . 16. Every vessel shall, in a fog, mist, falling snow, or 
heavy rain storms, go at a moderate speed, having careful regard 
to the existing circumstances and conditions. 

A steam vessel hearing, apparently forward of her beam, the 
fog signal of a vessel the position of which is not ascertained 
shall, so far as the circumstances of the case admit, stop her 
engines, and then navigate with caution until danger of collision 
is over. 

IV.—Steering and Sailing Rules 
Preliminary 

Risk of collision can, when circumstances permit, be ascer¬ 
tained by carefully watching the compass bearing of an approach¬ 
ing vessel. If the bearing does not appreciably change, such 
risk should be deemed to exist. 

Sailing Vessels 

Art . 17. When two sailing vessels are approaching one 
another, so as to involve risk of collision, one of them shall keep 
out of the way of the other, as follows, namely: 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


591 


(a) A vessel which is running free shall keep out of the way 
of a vessel which is closehauled. 

(b) A vessel which is closehauled on the port tack shall keep 
out of the way of a vessel which is closehauled on the starboard 
tack. 

(c) When both are running free, with the wind on different 
sides, the vessel which has the wind on the port side shall keep 
out of the way of the other. 

(d) When both are running free, with the wind on the same 
side, the vessel which is to the windward shall keep out of the 
way of the vessel which is to the leeward. 

(e) A vessel which has the wind aft shall keep out of the way 
of the other vessel. 

International Only 
Steam Vessels 

Art, 18, When two steam vessels are meeting end on, or 
nearly end on, so as to involve risk of collision, each shall alter 
her course to starboard, so that each may pass on the port side 
of the other. 

This article only applies to cases where vessels are meeting 
end on, or nearly end on, in such a manner as to involve risk of 
collision, and does not apply to two vessels which must, if both 
keep on their respective courses, pass clear of each other. 

The only cases to which it does apply are when each of the 
two vessels is end on, or nearly end on to the other; in other 
words, to cases in which, by day, each vessel sees the masts of 
the other in a line, or nearly in a line, with her own; and by 
night, to cases in which each vessel is in such a position as to 
see both the side-lights of the other. 

It does not apply by day to cases in which a vessel sees another 
ahead crossing her own course; or by night, to cases where the 
red light of one vessel is opposed to the red light of the other, or 
where the green light of one vessel is opposed to the green light 
of the other, or where a red light without a green light, or a 
green light without a red light, is seen ahead, or where both 
green and red lights are seen anywhere but ahead. 

Inland Only 
Steam Vessels 

Art. 18. Rule I. When steam vessels are approaching each 
other head and head, that is, end on, or nearly so, it shall he 
the duty of each to pass on the port side of the other; and either 
vessel shall give, as a signal of her intention, one short and 


592 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


distinct blast of her whistle, which the other vessel shall answer 
promptly by a similar blast of her whistle, and thereupon such 
vessels shall pass on the port side of each other. But if the 
courses of such vessels are so far on the starboard of each other 
as not to be considered as meeting head and head, either vessel 
shall immediately give two short and distinct blasts of her 
whistle, which the other vessel shall answer promptly by two 
similar blasts of her whistle, and they shall pass on the star¬ 
board side of each other. 

The foregoing only applies to cases where vessels are meeting 
end on, or nearly end on, in such a manner as to involve risk 
of collision; in other words, to cases in which, by day, each 
vessel sees the masts of the other in a line, or nearly in a line, 
with her own, and by night to cases in which each vessel is in 
such a position as to see both the side-lights of the other. 

It does not apply by day to cases in which a vessel sees 
another ahead crossing her own course, or by night to cases 
where the red light of one vessel is opposed to the red light of 
the other, or where the green light of one vessel is opposed to 
the green light of the other, or where a red light without a green 
light or a green light without a red light, is seen ahead, or 
where both green and red lights are seen anywhere but ahead. 

Rule III. If, when steam vessels are approaching each other, 
either vessel fails to understand the course or intention of the 
other, from any cause, the vessel so in doubt shall immediately 
signify the same by giving several short and rapid blasts, not 
less than four, of the steam whistle. 

Rule V. Whenever a steam vessel is nearing a short bend 
or curve in the channel, where, from the height of the banks or 
other cause, a steam vessel approaching from the opposite 
direction can not be seen for a distance of half a mile, such 
steam vessel, when she shall have arrived within half a mile of 
such curve or bend, shall give a signal by one long blast of the 
steam whistle, which signal shall be answered by a similar blast 
given by any approaching steam vessel that may be within 
hearing. Should such signal be so answered by a steam vessel 
upon the farther side of such bend, then the usual signals for 
meeting and passing shall immediately be given and answered; 
but, if the first alarm signal of such vessel be not answered, she 
is to consider the channel clear and govern herself accordingly. 

When steam vessels are moved from their docks or berths, 
and other boats are liable to pass from any direction toward 
them, they shall give the same signal as in the case of vessels 
meeting at a bend, but immediately after clearing the berths 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


593 


so as to be fully in sight they shall be governed by the steering 
and sailing rules. 

Rule VIII. When steam vessels are running in the same 
direction, and the vessel which is astern shall desire to„pass on 
the right or starboard hand of the vessel ahead, she shall give 
one short blast of the steam whistle, as a signal of such desire, 
and if the vessel ahead answers with one blast, she shall put 
her helm to port; or if she shall desire to pass on the left or 
port side of the vessel ahead, she shall give two short blasts 
of the steam whistle as a signal of such desire, and if the vessel 
ahead answers with two blasts, shall put her helm to starboard; 
or if the vessel ahead does not think it safe for the vessel astern 
to attempt to pass at that point, she shall immediately signify 
the same by giving several short and rapid blasts of the steam 
whistle, not less than four, and under no circumstances shall 
the vessel astern attempt to pass the vessel ahead until such 
time as they have reached a point where it can be safely done, 
when said vessel ahead shall signify her willingness by blowing 
the proper signals. The vessel ahead shall in no case attempt 
to cross the bow or crowd upon the course of the passing vessel. 

Rule IX. The whistle signals provided in the rules under 
this article, for steam vessels meeting, passing, or overtaking, 
are never to be used except when steamers are in sight of each 
other, and the course and position of each can be determined in 
the daytime by a sight of the vessel itself, or by night by seeing 
its signal lights. In fog, mist, falling snow or heavy rain 
storms, when vessels can not see each other, fog signals only 
must be given. 

Supplementary Regulations 

Sec. 2. That the supervising inspectors of steam-vessels and 
the Supervising Inspector-General shall establish such rules 
to be observed by steam vessels in passing each other and as to 
the lights to be carried by ferryboats and by barges and canal 
boats when in tow of steam vessels, not inconsistent with 
the provisions of this act, as they from time to time may deem 
necessary for safety, which rules when approved by the Secre¬ 
tary of Commerce are hereby declared special rules duly made 
by local authority, as provided for in article thirty of chapter 
eight hundred and two of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety. Two printed copies of such rules shall be furnished 
to such ferryboats and steam vessels, which rules shall be 
kept posted up in conspicuous places in such vessels.* 

* See Pilot rules, page 597. 


594 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


International and Inland 
Two Steam Vessels Crossing 

Art. 19. When two steam vessels are crossing, so as to 
involve risk of collision, the vessel which has the other on her 
own starboard side shall keep out of the way of the other. 

Steam Vessel Shall Keep Out of the Way of Sailing Vessel 

Art. 20. When a steam vessel and a sailing vessel are pro¬ 
ceeding in such directions as to involve risk of collision, the 
steam vessel shall keep out of the way of the sailing vessel. 

Course and Speed 

Art. 21. Where, by any of these rules, one of two vessels is 
to keep out of the way the other shall keep her course and 
speed. 

Note—When, in consequence of thick weather or other causes, 
such vessel finds herself so close that collision can not be 
avoided by the action of the giving-way vessel alone, she also 
shall take such action as will best aid to avert collision. [See 
articles twenty-seven and twenty-nine.] 

Crossing Ahead 

Art. 22. Every vessel which is directed by these rules to 
keep out of the way of another vessel shall, if the circumstances 
of the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other. 

Steam Vessel Shall Slacken Speed or Stop 

Art. 23. Every steam vessel which is directed by these rules 
to keep out of the way of another vessel shall, on approaching 
her, if necessary, slacken her speed or stop or reverse. 

Overtaking Vessels 

Art. 24. Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules 
every vessel, overtaking any other, shall keep out of the way 
of the overtaken vessel. 

Every vessel coming up with another vessel from any direction 
more than two points abaft her beam, that is, in such a position, 
with reference to the vessel which she is overtaking that at night 
she would be unable to see either of that vessel’s side lights, 
shall be deemed to be an overtaking vessel; and no subsequent 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


595 


alteration of the bearing between the two vessels shall make the 
overtaking vessel a crossing vessel within the meaning of these 
rules, or relieve her of the duty of keeping clear of the overtaken 
vessel until she is finally past and clear. 

As by day the overtaking vessel can not always know with 
certainty whether she is forward of or abaft this direction from 
the other vessel she should, if in doubt, assume that she is an 
overtaking vessel and keep out of the way. 

Narrow Channels 

Art. 25. In narrow channels every steam vessel shall, when 
it is safe and practicable, keep to that side of the fairway or 
mid-channel which lies on the starboard side of such vessel. 

Right of Way of Fishing Vessels 

Art. 26. Sailing vessels under way shall keep out of the way 
of sailing vessels or boats fishing with nets, or lines, or trawls. 
This rule shall not give to any vessel or boat engaged in fishing 
the right of obstructing a fairway used by vessels other than 
fishing vessels or boats. 

General Prudential Rule 

Art. 27. In obeying and construing these rules due regard 
shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision, and to any 
special circumstances which may render a departure from the 
above rules necessary in order to avoid immediate danger. 

Sound Signals for Passing Steamers 

Art. 28. The words “ short blast ” used in this article shall 
mean a blast of about one second’s duration. 

When vessels are in sight of one another, a steam vessel under 
way, in taking any course authorized or required by these rules, 
shall indicate that course by the following signals on her whistle 
or siren, namely: 

One short blast to mean, “ I am directing my course to star¬ 
board.” 

Two short blasts to mean, “ I am directing my course to port.” 

Three short blasts to mean, “ My engines are going at full 
speed astern.” 


596 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Precaution 

Art. 29. Nothing in these rules shall exonerate any vessel, 
or the owner or master or crew thereof, from the consequences 
of any neglect to carry lights or signals, or of any neglect to keep 
a proper lookout, or of the neglect of any precaution which may 
be required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special 
circumstances of the case. 

International Only 

Art. 30. Nothing in these rules shall interfere with the 
operation of a special rule, duly made by local authority, relative 
to the navigation of any harbor, river, or inland waters. 

Inland Only 

Lights on United States Naval Vessels and Coast Guard Cutters 

Art. 30. The exhibition of any light on board of a vessel of 
war of the United States or a Coast Guard cutter may be 
suspended whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the 
Navy, the commander in chief of a squadron, or the commander 
of a vessel acting singly, the special character of the service 
may require it. 

International and Inland 
Distress Signals 

Art. 31. When a vessel is in distress and requires assistance 
from other vessels or from the shore the following shall be the 
signals to be used or displayed by her, either together or separ¬ 
ately, namely: 

In the daytime— 

First. A gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of 
about a minute. 

Second. The international code signal of distress indicated 
by N C. 

Third. The distance signal, consisting of a square flag, having 
either above or below it a ball or anything resembling a ball. 

Fourth. A continuous sounding with any fog-signal apparatus. 

At night—- 

First. A gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of 
about a minute. 

Second. Flames on the vessel (as from a burning tar barrel, 
oil barrel, and so forth). 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


597 


Third. Rockets or shells throwing stars of any color or de¬ 
scription, fired one at a time, at short intervals. 

Fourth. A continuous sounding with any fog-signal apparatus. 

Ill 

U. S. Pilot Rules 

Pilot Rules for all Harbors, Rivers, and Inland Waters of the 

United States, Except the Great Lakes and Their Connecting 

and Tributary Waters as far East as Montreal and the Red 

River of the North and Rivers Emptying into the Gulf of 

Mexico and Their Tributaries . 

Preliminary 

In the following rules the words steam vessel shall include 
any vessel propelled by machinery. 

A vessel is under way , within the meaning of these rules, when 
she is not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground. 

Risk of collision can, when circumstances permit, be ascer¬ 
tained by carefully watching the compass bearing of an approach¬ 
ing vessel. If the bearing does not appreciably change, such 
risk should be deemed to exist. 

Signals 

The whistle signals provided in these rules shall be sounded 
on an efficient whistle or siren sounded by steam or by some 
substitute for steam. 

A short blast of the whistle shall mean a blast of about one 
second’s duration. 

A prolonged blast of the whistle shall mean a blast of from 
four to six seconds , duration.* 

One short blast of the whistle signifies intention to direct 
course to own starboard, except when two steam vessels are 
approaching each other at right angles or obliquely, when it 
signifies intention of steam vessel which is to starboard of the 
other to hold course and speed. 

* Under the provisions of par. (a), sec. 4, of act of Congress approved 
June 9, 1910, “ a blast of at least two seconds shall be deemed a prolonged 
blast within the meaning of the law,” when given by vessels propelled by 
machinery and not more than 65 feet in length, except tugboats and towboats 
propelled by steam. 


598 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Two short blasts of the whistle signify intention to direct 
course to own port. 

Three short blasts of the whistle shall mean, “ My engines 
are going at full speed astern.” 

When vessels are in sight of one another a steam vessel under 
way whose engines are going at full speed astern shall indicate 
that fact by three short blasts on the whistle. 

Rule I. If, when steam vessels are approaching each other, 
either vessel fails to understand the course or intention of the 
other, from any cause, the vessel so in doubt shall immediately 
signify the same by giving several short and rapid blasts, not 
less than four, of the steam whistle, the danger signal. 

Rule II. Steam vessels are forbidden to use what has be¬ 
come technically known among pilots as “ cross signals ,” that is, 
answering one whistle with two, and answering two whistles 
with one. 

Rule III. The signals for passing, by the blowing of the 
whistle, shall be given and answered by pilots, in compliance 
with these rules, not only when meeting “ head and head,” 
or nearly so, but at all times, when the steam vessels are in 
sight of each other, when passing or meeting at a distance within 
half a mile of each other, and whether passing to the starboard 
or port. 

The whistle signals provided in the rules for steam vessels 
meeting, passing, or overtaking, are never to be used except 
when steam vessels are in sight of each other, and the course and 
position of each can be determined in the daytime by a sight of 
the vessel itself, or by night by seeing its signal lights. In fog, 
mist, falling snow or heavy rain-storms, when vessels can not so 
see each other, fog signals only must be given. 

Situations 

Rule IV. When steam vessels are approaching each other 
head and head, that is, end on, or nearly so, it shall be the duty 
of each to pass on the port side of the other; and either vessel 
shall give, as a signal of her intention, one short and distinct 
blast of her whistle, which the other vessel shall answer promptly 
by a similar blast of her whistle, and thereupon such vessels 
shall pass on the port side of each other. But if the courses of 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


599 


such vessels are so far on the starboard of each other as not to 
be considered as meeting head and head, either vessel shall 
immediately give two short and distinct blasts of her whistle, 
which the other vessel shall answer promptly by two similar 
blasts of her whistle, and they shall pass on the starboard side 
of each other. 

The foregoing only applies to cases where vessels are meeting 
end on or nearly end on, in such a manner as to involve risk of 
collision; in other words, to cases in which, by day, each vessel 
sees the masts of the other in a line, or nearly in a line, with her 
own, and by night to cases in which each vessel is in such a 
position as to see both the side lights of the other. 

It does not apply by day to cases in which a vessel sees another 
ahead crossing her own course, or by night to cases where the 
red light of one vessel is opposed to the red light of the other, 
or where the green light of one vessel is opposed to the green 
light of the other, or where a red light without a green light or a 
green light without a red light, is seen ahead, or where both 
green and red lights are seen anywhere but ahead. 

Rule V . Whenever a steam vessel is nearing a short bend or 
curve in the channel, where, from the height of the banks or 
other cause, a steam vessel approaching from the opposite direc¬ 
tion can not be seen for a distance of half a mile, such steam 
vessel, when she shall have arrived within half a mile of such 
curve or bend, shall give a signal by one long blast of the steam 
whistle, which signal shall be answered by a similar blast, given 
by any approaching steam vessel that may be within hearing. 
Should such signal be so answered by a steam vessel upon the 
farther side of such bend, then the usual signals for meeting 
and passing shall immediately be given and answered; but, if 
the first alarm signal of such vessel be not answered, she is to 
consider the channel clear and govern herself accordingly. 

When steam vessels are moved from their docks or berths , 
and other boats are liable to pass from any direction toward 
them, they shall give the same signal as in the case of vessels 
meeting at a bend, but immediately after clearing the berths 
so as to be fully in sight they shall be governed by the steering 
and sailing rules. 

Rule VI. When steam vessels are running in the same 


600 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


direction, and the vessel which is astern shall desire to pass on 
the right or starboard hand of the vessel ahead, she shall give 
one short blast of the steam whistle, as a signal of such desire, 
and if the vessel ahead answers with one blast, she shall put her 
helm to port; or if she shall desire to pass on the left or port 
side of the vessel ahead, she shall give two short blasts of the 
steam whistle as a signal of such desire, and if the vessel ahead 
answers with two blasts, shall put her helm to starboard; or 
if the vessel ahead does not think it safe for the vessel astern 
to attempt to pass at that point, she shall immediately signify 
the same by giving several short and rapid blasts of the steam 
whistle, not less than four, and under no circumstances shall the 
vessel astern attempt to pass the vessel ahead until such time 
as they have reached a point where it can be safely done, when 
said vessel ahead shall signify her willingness by blowing the 
proper signals. The vessel ahead shall in no case attempt to 
cross the bow or crowd upon the course of the passing vessel. 

Every vessel coming up with another vessel from any direction 
more than two points abaft her beam, that is, in such a position, 
with reference to the vessel which she is overtaking that at 
night she would be unable to see either of that vessel’s side 
lights, shall be deemed to be an overtaking vessel; and no 
subsequent alteration of the bearing between the two vessels 
shall make the overtaking vessel a crossing vessel within the 
meaning of these rules, or relieve her of the duty of keeping 
clear of the overtaken vessel until she is finally past and clear. 

As by day the overtaking vessel can not always know with 
certainty whether she is forward of or abaft this direction from 
the other vessel she should, if in doubt, assume that she is an 
overtaking vessel and keep out of the way. 

Rule VII . When two steam vessels are approaching each 
other at right angles or obliquely so as to involve risk of col¬ 
lision, other than when one steam vessel is overtaking another, 
the steam vessel which has the other on her own port side shall 
hold her course and speed; and the steam vessel which has the 
other on her own starboard side shall keep out of the way of the 
other by directing her course to starboard so as to cross the 
stern of the other steam vessel, or, if necessary to do so, slacken 
her speed or stop or reverse. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


601 


If from any cause the conditions covered by this situation are 
such as to prevent immediate compliance with each other’s 
signals, the misunderstanding or objection shall be at once made 
apparent by blowing the danger signal, and both steam vessels 
shall be stopped and backed if necessary, until signals for passing 
with safety are made and understood. 

Rule VIII. When a steam vessel and a sailing vessel are 
proceeding in such directions as to involve risk of collision, the 
steam vessel shall keep out of the way of the sailing vessel. 

Rule IX. Every steam vessel which is directed by these rules 
to keep out of the way of another vessel shall, if the circum¬ 
stances of the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other. 

Rule X. In narrow channels every steam vessel shall, when 
it is safe and practicable, keep to that side of the fairway or mid¬ 
channel which lies on the starboard side of such vessel. 

Rule XI. In obeying and construing these rules due regard 
shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision, and to any 
special circumstances which may render a departure from the 
above rules necessary in order to avoid immediate danger. 

Sound Signals for Fog, and So Forth 

Rule XII . In fog, mist, falling snow, or heavy rainstorms, 
whether by day or night, signals shall be given as follows: 

A steam vessel under way, except when towing other vessels 
or being towed, shall sound, at intervals of not more than one 
minute, on the whistle or siren, a prolonged blast. 

A steam vessel when towing other vessels shall sound, at 
intervals of not more than one minute, on the whistle or siren, 
three blasts in succession, namely, one prolonged blast followed 
by two short blasts. 

A vessel towed may give, at intervals of not more than one 
minute, on the fog horn, a signal of three blasts in succession, 
namely, one prolonged blast followed by two short blasts, and 
she shall not give any other. 

A vessel when at anchor shall, at intervals of not more than 
one minute, ring the bell rapidly for about five seconds. 


602 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Speed to be Moderate in Fog, and So Forth 

Rule XIII. Every steam vessel shall, in a fog, mist, falling 
snow, or heavy rainstorms, go at a moderate speed , having 
careful regard to the existing circumstances and conditions. 

A steam vessel hearing, apparently forward of her beam, the 
fog signal of a vessel the position of which is not ascertained 
shall, so far as the circumstances of the case admit, stop her 
engines, and then navigate with caution until danger of collision 
is over. 

Posting of Pilot Rules 

On steam and other motor vessels of over 100 gross tons, two 
copies of the placard form of these rules (Form 803) shall be kept 
posted up in conspicuous places in the vessel, one copy of which 
shall be kept posted up in the pilot house. 

Diagrams 

The following diagrams are intended to illustrate the working 
of the system of colored lights and pilot rules: 

First Situation 

Here the two colored lights visible to each will indicate their 
direct approach “ head and head ” toward each other. In this 
situation it is a standing rule that both shall put their helms to 
port and pass on the port side of each other, each having previ¬ 
ously given one blast of the whistle. 



Second Situation 


In this situation the red light only will be visible to each, the 
screens preventing the green lights from being seen. Both 
vessels are evidently passing to port of each other, which is 






RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


603 


rulable in this situation, each pilot having previously signified 
his intention by one blast of the whistle. 




Third Situation 


In this situation the green light only will be visible to each, the 
screens preventing the red light from being seen. They are 
therefore passing to starboard of each other, which is rulable in 
this situation, each pilot having previously signified his intention 
by two blasts of the whistle. 



Fourth Situation 


In this situation one steam vessel is overtaking another steam 
vessel from some point within the angle of two points abaft the 
beams of the overtaken steam vessel. The overtaking steam 
vessel may pass on the starboard or port side of the steam 
vessel ahead after the necessary signals for passing have been 
given, with assent of the overtaken steam vessel, as prescribed 
in Rule VI. 



In this situation two steam vessels are approaching each 
other at right angles or obliquely in such manner as to involve 




604 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


risk of collision, other than where one steam vessel is overtaking 
another. The steam vessel which has the other on her own 
port side shall hold course and speed, and the other shall keep 
clear by crossing astern of the steam vessel that is holding 
course and speed, or, if necessary to do so, shall slacken her 
speed or stop or reverse. 


IV 

Special Rules 

U. S. Local Inspectors of Steam Vessels 

Act of September 4, 1890, in Regard to Collision at Sea, that 
Went into Effect December 15, 1890 

By the President of the United States of America 
A proclamation 

Whereas an act of Congress in regard to collisions at sea was 
approved September 4, 1890, the said act being in the following 
words: 

“ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled , That 
in every case of collision between two vessels it shall be the 
duty of the master or person in charge of each vessel, if and so 
far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, 
crew, and passengers (if any), to stay by the other vessel until 
he has ascertained that she has no need of further assistance, 
and to render to the other vessel, her master, crew, and pas¬ 
sengers (if any) such assistance as may be practicable and as 
may be necessary in order to save them from any danger caused 
by the collision, and also to give to the master or person in charge 
of the other vessel the name of his own vessel and her port of 
registry, or the port or place to which she belongs, and also the 
name of the ports and places from which and to which she is 
bound. If he fails so to do, and no reasonable cause for such 
failure is shown, the collision shall, in the absence of proof to 
the contrary, be deemed to have been caused by his wrongful 
act, neglect, or default. 

“ Sec. 2. That every master or person in charge of a United 
States vessel who fails, without reasonable cause, to render 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


605 


such assistance or give such information as aforesaid shall be 
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to a penalty 
of one thousand dollars, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 
two years; and for the above sum the vessel shall be liable and 
may be seized and proceeded against by process in any district 
court of the United States by any person; one-half of such sum to 
be payable to the informer and the other half to the United States. 

“ Sec. 3. That this act shall take effect at a time to be fixed 
by the President by Proclamation issued for that purpose.” 

And whereas it is provided by section 3 of the said act that it 
shall take effect at a time to be fixed by the President by procla¬ 
mation issued for that purpose: 

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the 
United States of America, do hereby, in virtue of the authority 
vested in me by section 3 of the said act, proclaim the fifteenth 
day of December, 1890, as the day on which the said act shall 
take effect. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington this eighteenth day of Novem¬ 
ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
ninety and of the Independence of the United States the one 
hundred and fifteenth. 

[Sea/.] Benj. Harrison 

By the President: 

James G. Blaine, Secretary of State 

Rule Relating to the Use of Searchlights 

The Board of Supervising Inspectors, at their annual meeting 
of January, 1905, adopted the following rule relating to the use 
of searchlights: 

Any master or pilot of any steam vessel who shall flash or 
cause to be flashed the rays of the searchlight into the pilot 
house of a passing vessel shall be deemed guilty of misconduct 
and shall be liable to have his license suspended or revoked. 

Rule Prohibiting Unnecessary Sounding of the Steam Whistle 
[Authority: Act of Congress approved February 8, 1907] 

The Board of Supervising Inspectors, at their annual meeting 
of January, 1907, adopted the following rule: 


606 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Unnecessary sounding of the steam whistle is prohibited within 
any harbor limits of the United States. Whenever any licensed 
officer in charge of any steamer authorizes or permits such 
unnecessary whistling, upon conviction thereof before any board 
of inspectors having jurisdiction, such officer shall be suspended 
from acting under his license as the inspectors trying the case 
may deem proper. 

Rule Prohibiting the Carrying of Unauthorized Lights on 
Steam Vessels 

[Adopted by the Board of Supervising Inspectors on February 16, 1910, and 

approved by the Secretary of Commerce on March 9, 1910. Authority: 

Section 4450, Revised Statutes] 

Any master or pilot of any steam vessel who shall authorize or 
permit the carrying of any light, electric or otherwise, not re¬ 
quired by law, on the outside structure of the cabin or hull of 
the vessel that in any way will interfere with distinguishing the 
signal lights shall, upon conviction thereof before any board of 
inspectors having jurisdiction, be deemed guilty of misconduct 
and shall be liable to have his license suspended or revoked. 

V 

Notes on Rules of the Road 

Death through negligence, misconduct, etc. 

“ Every captain, engineer, pilot or other person employed on 
any steamboat or vessel, by whose misconduct, negligence, or 
inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any person is 
destroyed, and every owner, charterer, inspector, or other public 
officer, through whose fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or 
violation of law the life of any person is destroyed, shall he fined 
not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more 
than ten years, or both. . . . ” 

Act March 3, 1905, Sec. 282; 35 St. at Large 1144. 

Rules of the Road are mandatory. 

“ I do not want any option in these rules. The minute that 
you permit a sailor to have an option, whether he will or will not 
do a certain thing, you introduce confusion in the rules. I want 
to see these rules, as far as they can be made, as rigid as steel, 
so that there shall be no doubt what the Conference of Nations 
mean. They say, ‘ Obey these rules, and you will be saved 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


607 


from the danger of negligence; disobey them, and the courts 
will impose upon you the penalties of disobedience to the rules 
adopted by the nations of the world.’ ” 

Delegate Goodrich (United States) in the International 
Conference Rule of the Road Committee. 

Rules apply to all vessels alike. 

“ The size, importance or speed of a vessel does not give her 
special rights over small, less important or slower vessels. All 
are equal under the rules and obligated to the same strict 
observance of them. Passenger steamers have no special 
rights.” 

The Bellingham, 138 Fed. 619. 


Obedience to rules. 

“ Obedience to the rules is not a fault even if a different 
course would have prevented the collision, and the necessity 
must be clear and the emergency sudden and alarming before 
the act of disobedience can be excused. Masters are bound to 
obey the rules and entitled to rely on the assumption that they 
will be obeyed.” 

Bilden V. Chase, 150 U. S., 674, 699. 

The rule of special circumstances. 

“ In obeying and construing the rules, due regard must be had 
to all the dangers of navigation and collision, and to any special 
circumstances which may render a departure from the rules 
necessary in order to avoid immediate danger.” 

Close shaving must be avoided. 

“ ... if the rules are carried out according to the spirit of 
them, I am sure every one will agree with me in saying that it is 
necessary for the keeping-out-of-the-way vessel to maneuver 
so as to leave the way free for the other vessel in time, not only 
in time to avoid a collision, but, as far as possible, in time to 
avoid even the risk of a collision. Close shaving is to be 
avoided.” 

Prot. of Proc., p. 524. 


When a vessel is “ under way.” 

A vessel lying dead in the water is under way, if not at anchor 
or made fast to the shore or aground, and is an overtaken vessel 
in respect to any vessel approaching from any direction more than 
two points abaft her beam. 

The George W. Elder, 249 Fed. 956, 958. 


22 


608 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Screening lights. 

“ Great care should be exercised to see that the inboard 
screens of the colored running lights are placed exactly as 
required by the rules, and that the lights are set in their proper 
positions. If so placed, the rays will cross at the proper distance 
ahead of the ship. 

“ Extraordinary care should always be exercised in screening 
and watching the running lights when placed in the rigging. 
In the case of lights so located, it is difficult to fix the inboard 
screens sufficiently rigid on a line with the keel and in per¬ 
pendicular so that they will not show across the bow; but 
failure to have such lights conform in these and in all other 
respects with the regulations is a source of danger. The diffi¬ 
culty should, therefore, increase the caution. Side lights so 
located on sailing vessels are particularly apt to cause trouble, 
and being subject to change under sail pressure, are likely to 
convey to an approaching vessel the impression that the sailing 
vessel has changed her course.” 

La Boyteaux. 

Anchor lights. 

“ Anchor lights should be placed strictly in accordance with 
the rule. They should not be placed in too close proximity to 
the masts, nor where they will be obscured in any direction 
by the masts, spars, sails or rigging . 

“ Sails and all gear should be so stowed that they will not 
obstruct the anchor lights in any way. 

“ The forward light for vessels of 150 feet or upwards in 
length must be located in the forward part of the vessel. The 
forestay is the usual and probably the best place.” 

La Boyteaux. 

Speed in fog. 

“ The discretion of the navigator in the matter of speed in a 
fog must be exercised not wholly as a matter of individual judg¬ 
ment or individual views as to what is moderate speed, but 
also with due regard to the interpretation of the term ‘ moderate 
speed ’ by the maritime courts and to the general standards of 
good seamanship established by those courts in applying the 
term ‘ moderate speed.’ ” 

The Sagamore, 247 Fed. 743, 749. 

Vessel may be stopped in fog. 

“ . . . if a steam vessel in a fog cannot be continuously navi¬ 
gated at such a slow speed as will comply with the requirement 
of Article 16, she must, in the absence of exceptional dangers of 
navigation, such as may arise from narrow waters or current, 
be stopped from time to time to take off her way.” 

The Eagle Point (C.C.A.), 120 Fed. 449, 454. 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


609 


Precautions . 

“ The general consensus of opinion in this country is to the 
effect that a steamer is bound to use only such precautions as 
will enable her to stop in time to avoid a collision, after the 
approaching vessel comes in sight, provided such approaching 
vessel is herself going at the moderate speed required by law.” 

U. S. Supreme Court. 

Circumstances affecting speed in fog.* 

Amongst the circumstances and conditions for which careful 
regard must be had in determining what shall constitute moder¬ 
ate speed, the following were mentioned in the discussion before 
the conference: 

The density of the fog and the condition of the weather for 
hearing fog signals; 

Whether the vessel is in narrow waters or on the broad 
ocean; 

Whether on fishing grounds or in frequented or unfre¬ 
quented waters; 

The possibility or probability of meeting other vessels; 

The readiness with which a vessel (if laden or in ballast) 
is able to maneuver; 

The quickness with which she can be brought to a stand¬ 
still with the reserve of steam available for that purpose; 

Her position with respect to heavy tideways, strong currents 
or other dangers. 

The rate of speed constituting “ moderate speed ” under the 
requirement of this rule, therefore, will depend entirely upon the 
location of the vessel, the probability of meeting other vessels, 
the density of the fog, her ability to maneuver or bring herself 
to a standstill quickly, and any and all other surrounding cir¬ 
cumstances and conditions affecting her own safety or the safety 
of others. 

This rule permits only such speed in a fog as a vessel may 
maintain without danger to herself or without endangering others. 

La Boyteaux . 

The first thing that a mate on the bridge does when he hears a 
fog horn is to blow his own, and he always answers the signal 

* Steamers equipped with wireless apparatus and also those equipped with 
submarine signalling apparatus should make full use of these systems to safe¬ 
guard to the utmost navigation in a fog. Navigators whose vessels are so 
equipped must not, however, rely upon information secured through the 
use of such apparatus to disregard the positive requirements of the rule in 
respect to moderate speed or the stopping of the engines upon hearing a fog 
signal forward of the beam. 


610 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


at once. The man on the other vessel cannot possibly hear him, 
because his ears are deafened by the noise of his own horn, 
and he is, therefore, not aware of the presence of the other vessel 
until it is too late, and at the subsequent trial he will swear, and 
truthfully too, that he never heard the fog horn, although it was 
blown as often as his own. All officers should be warned that if 
they blow their horn immediately after hearing another one they 
will not be heard. They should wait at least half a minute 
before they answer a distant call, in order to allow those on 
board the other vessel to regain the full use of their ears. 

Nautical Magazine . 



Sailing craft in fog. 

Moderate speed for a sailing craft is such speed as will enable 
her to be kept properly under command, but no more. 

The provision “ having careful regard for the existing circum¬ 
stances and conditions ” is intended as a warning that strict 





























































RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


611 


attention and consideration must be given by mariners to all 
conditions, the density of the fog, etc., the state of the weather, 
the proximity of the land or rocks, the position of the vessel 
in respect to the possibility or probability of other vessels 
being in the vicinity; and, in fact, to any and all circumstances 
which could in any manner affect the handling of the vessel. 

Sailing vessel and steamer. 

u Where a sailing vessel and a steamer are proceeding in a 
direction that may involve collision, the duty of the former is to 
hold its course, while the latter keeps out of its way. The ob¬ 
servance of the rule is no more strictly required of one than of 
the other. The rule creates a mutual obligation, whereby the 
sailing vessel is required to hold its course in order that the 
other may know its position, and not be led into erroneous 
maneuvers in endeavoring to comply with the requirements of 
the rule. The rule is imperative, and admits of no option or 
choice.” 

Europa, 116 Fed. 696, 698. 


Sailing vessel and steamer. 

“ Meeting a sailing vessel proceeding in such a direction as to 
involve risk, it was her [the steamer’s] duty to keep out of the 
way, and nothing but inevitable accident, or the conduct and 
movements of the ship can repel the presumption that she was 
negligent, arising from the fact of collision. But this duty of 
the steamer implies a correlative obligation of the ship to keep 
her course, and do nothing to mislead.” 

The Scotia, 14 Wall. 170, 181. 

Sailing vessel cannot hold on blindly. 

u As a privileged vessel [sailing vessel], she was bound to 
maintain her course so long as it was possible for the burdened 
vessel to avoid her, at least in the absence of some distinct 
indication that the burdened vessel was about to fail in her 
duty. We are of the opinion that the schooner had notice of the 
intention of the tug [the burdened vessel] to hold her course, 
and thus create a situation where disaster was inevitable unless 
the schooner gave way, at a time when there was ample oppor¬ 
tunity to have avoided a collision had she acted promptly and with 
ordinary skill and prudence. . . . The tug gave no indication of 
changing her course, and the situation was one calling for the 
utmost caution on the part of the schooner. . . . The tug, by 
her own negligence, of course, had brought about a situation 
where a collision could be avoided only by the prompt intelligent 
action of the schooner. Can there be a doubt that it was her 
duty so to act? Was she justified in holding her course with 


612 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


stubborn determination when it was demonstrated that such 
action could only result in a collision? We think not. The 
law provides that in obeying and construing the rules of naviga¬ 
tion ‘ due regard shall be had to all dangers of navigation, and 
to any special circumstances which may render a departure from 
the above rules necessary in order to avoid immediate danger.’ 
The rules are not to be blindly followed to certain disaster. It 
behooves every navigator to avoid a collision if he can do so and 
for manifest error, except in the jaws of collision, he must be 
held responsible. He cannot plead that his was the privileged 
vessel to relieve him from consequences which were induced by 
his own lack of prudence and common sense.” 

The Gladys (C.C.A.), 144 Fed. 653, 657. 

Steamers’ Whistles 

It seems surprising that so little attention has been given to 
so important a part of the vessel’s equipment on which her 
safety, and that of perhaps hundreds of lives, may depend, but 
it is a fact that many steamers are at present trading on the 
coast the whistles of which are by no means sufficient to indicate 
their proximity to other ships in fog or to indicate to another 
vessel in sight the course she is about to take. 

The fault does not lie so often with the power of the whistle 
as with the method adopted for draining off the water condensed 
while the whistle is out of use or for rapidly disposing of the 
condensed steam which, in cold weather, is deposited in the 
whistle or connections long before a clear blast can be sounded. 
Probably the cause of a great deal of unsuitability in whistles 
is due to the fact of their having been installed without regard 
to the boiler pressure they are to work with and many cases have 
been observed where an inefficient whistle, under a bench test, 
has sounded perfectly, though remaining as bad as before when 
reinstalled on board the ship. 

The principal, and most dangerous, defect of steam whistles is, 
however, the refusal to sound a clear blast until the water ac¬ 
cumulated in the pipe has been blown out or the whistle been 
thoroughly warmed by being repeatedly blown, and faults of 
this description are very prone to mislead another ship and 
prompt her to take a course that might land both vessels in 
serious difficulty. 

It is no uncommon sight on the Whangpoo to see a steamer 
approaching another attempt to give a short blast on her whistle 
to indicate that she is taking the starboard side of the channel 
and be unable to produce more than a gasping cough that can 
hardly be heard on her own forecastle head. The officer in 
charge, naturally, does not regard this as an efficient signal to 


RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


613 


the other ship and repeats the blast to get a clear and audible 
sound from his whistle. But it is quite probable that the man in 
the approaching ship has seen the jet of steam from the first 
blast and concludes that some noise in his own vicinity has pre¬ 
vented the sound being heard. On seeing the second jet, and 
perhaps hearing that blast, he con¬ 
cludes that two whistles have been 
blown and that the other ship is alter¬ 
ing her course to port, regulating the 
course of his own vessel to that be¬ 
lief. It does not need much imagin¬ 
ation to realize that here is the 
making of a first-class disaster for the 
occurrence of which it would be wrong 
to blame either officer. If blame 
attaches to anyone, it must certainly 
be to the builder who installed such 
a whistle, the surveyor who permitted 
it to pass or the marine superin¬ 
tendent who neglected to have the 
defect rectified when pointed out to 
him. 

Unfortunately, there can be no hard- 
and-fast rule as to efficiency of steam 
whistles, but it should certainly be 
insisted upon that every whistle is 
capable of blowing a loud and clear 
blast the first time the lanyard is 
pulled instead of being seized with a 
prolonged fit of coughing and splut¬ 
tering that lasts until the water has 
been blown out and the whistle 
warmed.* , . , . . 

The instant readiness of the steam whistle or siren to give a 
clear blast indicating the course the vessel is about to take may 
seem a small matter to the uninitiated, but its failure to do so at a 
critical moment in crowded waters such as the Whangpoo or 
Yangtze might cause grave confusion in the mind of the captain 
or pilot of an approaching vessel and, by misleading him m ms 
interpretation of the other vessel’s premeditated action, lead him 
to take a course that would bring about the very accident to 
avoid which the signal was given. 

Shipping and Engineering {Shanghai), Aug. 6, 1920 . 



A B 

Ay water, no sound. B, 
whistle sounds when clear of 
water. 


* Whistle pipes should connect directly to the boiler. A straight lead will 
keep them drained. This also prevents freezing in cold weather. Leading 
the pipe to the whistle inside the stack casing is good practice. 
















614 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Whistle steam pipes should be provided with drains. The 
whistle installation is one of the most important details of ship 
construction. 

The Four Whistle Signal and the Halifax Disaster* 

“ Take the case of the collision between the ships which caused 
the great disaster to the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Dec. 



6, 1917. It will be remembered that the Norwegian steamer 
‘ Imo * of 5043 gross tons was leaving Bedford Basin, Halifax, 
bound to sea and collided with the French steamer ‘ Mt . Blanc 9 
of 3121 gross tons laden with TNT, and other explosives, bound 
in for Bedford Basin. The collision took place in the Narrows 
and was due entirely to a misunderstanding of signals. There 
was plenty of room for the vessels to have passed each other, 
and the vessels were also plainly visible to each other. 

“At the official inquiry the captain of the ‘ Mt. Blanc y said 
that he was on the starboard side of the passage about one 
hundred and twenty feet from the Dartmouth shore; that the 
‘ Imo’s ’ starboard side was visible to him about two points 
on his port bow distant about half a mile and that she was 
headed across his course, viz. toward the Dartmouth shore. 
(First Phase.) He gave one short blast to indicate that he was 

* Printed by courtesy of The National Marine , and Lieut. James Otis 
Porter, U.S.N.R., formerly Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Schoolship 
Nantucket. 



RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


615 


going to starboard, and slowed his engines. The 4 Imo 1 
replied with two short blasts, crossing his signals, contrary to 
all rules. It is fair to say however that survivors of the Imo say 



that the Mt. Blanc gave two blasts.* She did not, but they 
thought she did. If she had it would have created a very awk¬ 
ward situation, and right there was where a four whistle danger 
signal by the Mt. Blanc on the Imo would have prevented the 
accident. The Mt. Blanc was swinging to starboard and Imo 
to port and rapidly approaching each other. In the meantime 
the captain of the Mt. Blanc stopped his engines. When the 
ships were about one hundred and fifty feet apart he gave two 
blasts. The ships were now fifty feet apart nearly parallel each 
having the other to starboard. ( Second Phase.) The Imo re¬ 
versed her enginesf and gave three blasts and the Mt. Blanc 
also gave three blasts and reversed,J with a starboard helm, 
in order to take the blow as far forward as possible. ( Thud 
Phase.) 

“ The master of the Mt. Blanc was asked while on the witness 
stand at the inquiry if he understood the Imo 1 s two whistles, 
viz. in answer to the first one he gave? He said, 4 1 thought 
she was whistling wrong, but as she signalled first I could not 
change.’ 

* See above on water in whistle. 

f Bow swings to starboard. 

J Bow swings to starboard. 


616 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Right there was the place and time when the four whistle 
signal would have prevented the collision. It would have warned 
the captain of the Imo that he must have misunderstood the 
Mt. Blanc and that he could not hold his course without danger 
of disaster.” 



Wireless phone . 

The use of whistle signals is unsatisfactory, but seems to be 
the best thing we have, for the present, at least. When the 
wireless phone comes into general use it should be of great help 
in these matters. “ I am steering to starboard ” would not be 
misunderstood. 

The two whistle signal . 

As this is used when going contrary to the general rule that 
vessels should pass each other on the port hand, it should only 
be employed when absolutely necessary. Such cases arise very 
frequently in the crowded waters about New York, but it is well 
to always go to starboard if possible. 

Local routes. 

When running along a coast at night or in thick weather 
always have in mind the local conditions. A vessel passing 
the mouth of a large river, or the entrance to a port, may expect 
other craft to come upon her broad on either beam. A knowledge 
of trade routes, especially those frequented by sail (see pilot 
charts) is of great importance. 

Backing . 

Vessels backing observe the same steering rules as when 
going ahead. But a backing vessel that must give way is often 




RULES OF THE ROAD AT SEA 


617 


unable to do so because of her poor steering ability and the 
rule of special circumstances comes into play. 

Foreign Inland Rules. 

Consult “ Pilots,” sailing directions, and chart notes. 

Light towers. 

On sailing craft, wherever possi¬ 
ble, the side lights should not be 
carried in the rigging, where the 
condition of the shrouds, either 
slack to leeward or taut to wind¬ 
ward, may greatly effect the screen¬ 
ing of the lights. On large vessels 
light towers are usually fitted on A light tower or lighthouse. 
the forecastle head. These not 

only provide a well-placed and rigid position for the side lights, 
but also protect them from damage by gear and from the wash 
of heavy seas. 

Shapes. 

The various shapes prescribed by the rules of the road are 
generally made of painted canvas stretched on metal frames. 
As these shapes are seldom used it is often found that they are 
out of order when needed. They should be stowed in a special 
compartment of the bridge signal chest. 

Depth of fog. 

Fog often lies in comparatively thin layers. Send a hand aloft 
and also get a lookout down as far as possible as at times the 
range of view will be widely extended from such positions. 

Crow’s nest signals. 

On some ships it is the custom to have the crow’s nest lookout 
provided with a horn. One short blast—vessel on starboard bow. 
Two short blasts—vessel on port bow. Three short blasts 
vessel ahead. 

Course signals. . 

Vessels coming close together in a fog, hut not in sight of each 
other, must not use the direction signals. As soon as they sight 
each other these signals may be used, although the general 
rules for steering hold. In the case of a sailing vessel, her 
signals, on the fog horn (a distinctive sound) will indicate the 
tack she is on and her general direction. Wind is usually light 
in a fog. 









618 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


These verses by Thomas Gray are a good aid to memory—j 
far as they go. 


Two Steamships Meeting 

When you see Three Lights ahead — 
Port your Helm, and show your Red. 

Two Steamships Passing 

Green to Green, or Red to Red — 
Perfect safety, Go ahead! 

Two Steamships Crossing 

If to your Starboard Red appear, 

It is your duty to Keep Clear; 

To act as judgment says is proper, 

To Port, or Starboard, Back, or Stop her. 
But when upon your Port is seen 
A Steamer's Starboard light of Green, 
There's not so much for you to do, 

The Green light must keep clear of you. 

General Caution 

Both in safety and in doubt 
Always keep a good look-out. 

In danger, with no room to turn, 

Ease her—Stop her—Go astern. 

Sailing Ships 

If close hauled on the starboard tack, 

No other ship can cross your track; 

If on the port tack you appear, 

Ships going free must all keep clear; 
While you must yield when going free, 

To sail close hauled or on your lee. 

And, if you have the wind right aft, 

Keep clear of every sailing craft. 


CHAPTER 17 


GROUND TACKLE 

I 

Foreword 

The ground tackle of a vessel consists of anchors and cables * 
(generally chain cables). The windlass , or anchor engine , as 
some call it, is used for heaving up the anchor or weighing 
anchor. The hawse pipes are located near the stem and provide 
a lead for the anchor chain, and, in the case of stockless anchors, 
they provide stowage for the shank of the anchor, the flukes 
resting snug against the vessel’s side. A hawse pipe is some¬ 
times fitted in the stern for a stern anchor. 

Coming up through the hawse pipes the anchor chain usually 
passes through riding chocks fitted with heavy pawls used for 
the purpose of taking the stress off of the windlass when riding 
at anchor in heavy weather. Stoppers , of various design, are 
also fitted in many vessels between the hawse pipes and the 
windlass and are used for the same purpose. 

The chain passes over a sprocket wheel on the windlass 
known as a wildcat . This engages the chain, link by link, and 
serves to apply the power of the windlass engine to the chain 
when heaving in. When letting go y the wildcat is thrown out of 
connection and revolves freely, except for its control by a fric¬ 
tion band operated by a brake lever, or a screw and wheel. 

On merchant vessels the chain, after passing over the wild¬ 
cat, generally drops directly into the chain locker located im¬ 
mediately below. Chain lockers are usually built just forward 
of the collision bulkhead, or just abaft of it. They are deep 
compartments divided by a stout wooden bulkhead to separate 
the starboard and port anchor chains. Inspection of various 
drawings in the book (pp. 254 , 344 ), will show the position of the 

* Torpedo boats use wire cables. Fishing schooners use hemp cables. 
Both generally use old-fashioned anchors. 

619 


620 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


chain locker. It is not necessary to tier the chain, that is to 
stow it, when heaving in. This is done by the shape of the 
locker; the chain, confined by the sides of the locker, falling and 
resting in irregular short fakes, one on top of another. 



Diagram showing stowage of stockless anchor , and deck arrangements 
for working chain cable. 


Sometimes additional controllers , or compressors ) are fitted 
under the deck chain pipes or naval pipes leading to the chain 
locker. These lock, or control, the chain abaft of the windlass. 

The deck chain pipes, abaft of the windlass, should be pro¬ 
vided with effective watertight stoppers. Where hawse pipes 
lead into a ’tween deck, or under a forecastle head, conical 
canvas stoppers, stuffed with tarred oakum, are often fitted. 
These are pulled into the pipes, big end outboard. They are 
hove tight by means of rope tails usually taken to the gypsey 
heads of the windlass. These fittings are known to sailors as 
jackasses. They are the most effective method of making 
hawse pipes water tight, especially in deep water sailing ships 
with old-fashioned ground tackle, where the anchors stow on the 
bill boards , and chains are unshackled and hauled in when off 
soundings. 

Ground tackle is in many respects the most vital part of a 
vessel’s equipment. Her safety frequently depends upon the 
good design and sound construction of this important gear. 
Proper ground tackle has saved many ships and lives, and on the 












GROUND TACKLE 


621 


other hand, poor ground tackle, or ground tackle poorly managed, 
has often been the prime cause of disaster. The seaman must 
know his ground tackle, understand its use, its limitations, and 
the many elements that enter into its effective operation. 

The writer recalls an experience in the Bay of Gibraltar, in 
1897, when the New York Schoolship St. Mary’s , anchored out¬ 
side of the squall line. During a heavy blast from the north, 
the ship dragged her two bower anchors, with one hundred 
fathoms of chain on each anchor, yards braced sharp up, and 
sheet anchors about to let go, when the old ship slid off into deep 
water in the Straits. Making sail in the squalls and trying to 
keep control of the ship with all of her bower chain overboard 
was no fun. But this was practical training. The skipper, 
Lieut. Comm. W. H. Reeder (in those days a lieutenant com¬ 
mander in the U. S. Navy was an officer with about twenty-five 
years of regular sea service behind him) gave the boys on board 
an example of splendid seamanship. It is pleasant to recal that 
stirring time when the old Mary’s dragged past the coal hulk 
Three Brothers, once a famous Yankee ship, then, and perhaps 
still, a coal hulk in Gib. We went so close our boat booms were 
only saved by quick work. 

For half a day forty boys at a time manned the capstan bars, 
working in the heavy chain inch by inch, while the other sixty 
sailed the ship, or gave a hand dragging chain along the gun 
deck to the lockers located at the foot of the mainmast. As the 
boys at the capstan fell out from time to time, oatmeal water 
was fed to them, and a youngster with a fife, sitting on the 
drum head of the capstan, livened up the scene which was wild 
enough, with the roaring wind and slatting canvas. 

After this the skipper gave quite a lecture on always studying 
local conditions before coming to anchor. 

No matter where you anchor, never for a moment rest in 
security. A nice muddy bottom may seem safe, but the mud 
may only be a soft silt without holding power overlying a hard- 
pan bottom, also without holding power, especially if your anchor 
plows through the soft mud almost upright. The writer can tell 
a story of just such conditions in the harbor of Pensacola, but 
space here will not permit, remember—always watch the weather. 


622 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Before going on with the specific details of ground tackle, it 
may be advisable to impress upon the reader the importance of 
knowing the exact state of and method of handling the gear in 
the vessel in which you happen to be. Books are all right, but a 
book cannot supply you with all the things you should know 
about the ground tackle you are shipmates with. Merchant 
craft anchor so seldom, compared with navy vessels, that many 
seaman make voyage after voyage directly from dock to dock, 
never using their anchors. This is all the more reason why the 
merchant seaman should make a special study of his ground 
tackle. 

The young seaman should remember that ground tackle is 
always spoken of by sailors as ground TAYKEL (phonetic spell¬ 
ing). The ay is sounded as in may. Philologists may find 
fault with this, but nevertheless it is the way seamen talk. 

II 

Anchors 

After centuries of development the anchor finally reached a 
stage where no further improvement seemed possible. This 

form of anchor, generally 
known as the “ old-fashi¬ 
oned ” anchor is shown in the 
drawing with the names of 
parts marked upon it. A sim¬ 
ilar formation of arms and 
flukes seems to be of very 
early origin. Medals, found 
in the Catacombs of Rome, 
depict an anchor closely re¬ 
sembling that of the present 
day. The use of an eye in 
the crown, no doubt for bending a tripping line, was a conces¬ 
sion to its excellent holding power. Of course in those days an¬ 
chor was weighed by hand with perhaps some form of purchase. 

The anchors of Columbus were distinguished by their long 
shank, straight arms and sharp triangular flukes. Heavy wooden 
stocks were lashed, or wedged, by hoops. These were excellent 
anchors for sandy bottom. 



Anchors of early Christian era. 
Medals found in Catacombs , Rome. 




GROUND TACKLE 


623 


Heavy pin through 
eye of shank ana . N 
shackle secured by \ 
forelock. 


'Ring or Jews Harp 
also Shackle 


The essential things to be kept in mind in anchor design are 
as follows: It must bite quickly, hold firm, even when the vessel 
swings around on her cable, and it must be easy to break out , 
when weighing anchor. It must also present the least chance 
of fouling, as a foul anchor (the chain leading around the stock 
or an arm) will not hold. 

Anchors with long shanks and small sharp flukes take hold 
better in sandy bottom. A soft bottom will afford better hold to 
an anchor with a large fluke or palm. The most general design 
is one in which the shank, arms, stock, etc., are about as shown 
in the illustration. The old-fashioned anchor with the metal 
stock is of a heavier type and 
that shown is the design used 
in the navy. The balls at the 
end of the stock are to prevent 
it from sinking into the bottom 
when canting. 

When an old-fashioned an¬ 
chor is let go it strikes bottom 
crown first. The vessel should 
have sternboard, or headway, 
so that the chain, as it pays 
out, will not fall on top of the 
anchor and foul the stock. As 
the anchor strikes bottom it 
will fall over on its side and 
rest on the crown and the 
lower end of the stock. The 
pull of the chain, when the 
brake is put on the windlass, 
will cause the stock to lie hori¬ 
zontal and cant the anchor, 

one arm will point down, and the bill, or pee will bite. The 
palm or fluke will then work down into the bottom. A heavy 
pull will cause a well-designed anchor to bury itself in the 
bottom. When weighing anchor, the pull becomes up and down 
and the lifting of the shank will cause the curved arm to work 
around in a circle bringing the bill and fluke up through the 
bottom. 



Bill or Pee , 


'Blade 


-Arm 


Crown 


An old-fashioned anchor — 
wooden stock. 









624 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The old-fashioned anchor with its single arm holding the bot¬ 
tom is more easily adjusted to different directions of the cable. 


If a vessel swings through a wide 
angle the stock may cause the 
holding arm to come out, but at 
once the canting action of the 
stock will again cause the other, 
or the same arm, to engage the 
bottom as when letting go. 
When swinging gradually the 
stock will keep the arm pointed 
vertical and it will pivot around 
with the ship. The curved shape 
of the arm will prevent it from 
working out of its grip. 



The old-fashioned anchor has 
some disadvantages. Difficulty 
in stowing, and ease of foul- 


Old-fashioned anchor. Metal stock, ing from improper letting go, are 


Stock stowed. 


among the most objectionable 
features. Both, however, are 


easily overcome by skilled handling. But the time saved in 
stowing a patent, or stockless anchor, is so important that this 
type is superseding the old-fashioned anchor in most modern 
craft. Stockless anchors are even being fitted in sailing craft. 
Here the old-fashioned anchor should be retained. Sailers, 
even when fitted with motors, are so much more dependent 
upon their ground tackle that the very best holding qualities 
should be sought regardless of time or trouble in catting and 
fishing. 

This greater dependence of sailing craft upon their ground 
tackle is recognized by the rules of the classification societies. 
A 5,000 ton (equipment tonnage) sailer is required, according to 
A.B.S. Rules, to carry bower anchors weighing over 8,000 lbs., 
while a steamer of the same size must only have 6,000 lb. bowers. 
The greater amount of tophamper carried by sailers is also a 
factor in this greater weight of anchors. As a general thing, the 
preponderence of weight in sailing ship anchors over steamer 
anchors, in vessels of the same tonnage, is as four is to three. 















GROUND TACKLE 


625 


The Patent, or Stockless Anchor* 

This anchor is most used in steam and motor vessels. In a 
general way it consists of the following parts: The shank and 
the armSy having motion about the shank as shown in the 
drawings. The crown or head is the part between the arms 
where they pivot on the shank. The flukes are large, in fact 
the arms are all fluke. Tripping palms are cast at the base of 
the arms to make the fluke bite. Practically all stockless anchors 
are assembled as follows: The bare shank, without anchor 
shackle, is passed up through the hole in the crown or head of 
the anchor between the flukes. It is then secured in various 
ways against backing, or falling out, usually by pins, under the 
heel of the shank, through the heel of the shank, or through 
locking pieces which close up the hole in the crown. All of the 
best anchors however are so built that shoulders, on the shank, 
of various shapes engage recesses in the head so that the shank 
cannot pull through. The Baldt anchor is assembled in the 
same way and is held by a ball and socket joint. An inspection 
of the drawings will show that great similarity exists between 
the standard form of stockless anchors. Sketches of the fore¬ 
most makes in the United States are given as a matter of in¬ 
terest. The Gruson-Heiny a German anchor, carries its flukes 
in close to the stock, giving somewhat the effect of a single 
split anchor arm, an advantage when swinging. One object¬ 
ion to the double fluke anchor is the tendency to cant or step 
upy as greater pressure comes on one fluke and then on the other, 
while a vessel swings or when the anchor drags through un¬ 
even ground. Also one fluke may strike a rock and the other 
one lift out of the bottom, causing the anchor to capsize. The 
wider apart the flukes the more this canting effect will be em¬ 
phasized. 

Stockless anchors have been designed carrying a single fluke, 
and a wide head, which performs the duty of the old-fashioned 
stock. Mr. A. W. Jansen, late safety engineer at the navy yard, 
New York, has developed such an anchor. 

All well-designed stockless anchors are provided with pro¬ 
jections or tripping palms on the head, so that these take hold 

* Where weight of anchors is specified in A.B.S. tables, V4 the weight given 
must be added if stockless anchors are used. 


626 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 








Types of stockless anchors in general use at sea . 
















GROUND TACKLE 


627 


and turn the flukes down into the ground when a pull comes on 
the cable. The drawings indicate this clearly. 

The flukes are given motion through ninety degrees, forty-five 
degree on either side of the shank. 

The Eells Anchor differs in design from other stockless anchors 
and presents many features of interest. 

The following extract from tests of an Eells anchor is of interest 
as it not only demonstrates the excellent holding power of this 
anchor but gives a good idea of how an anchor test may be made. 

The method used in conducting the tests was as follows: 


The anchor to be tested was shackled on to the starboard chain 
and then dropped, the chain being run out to the desired scope 
and then shackled on to the port chain on which a testing link 
with a Watson and Stillman 100 ton gauge attached, had been 
placed between the hawsepipe and windlass, port wildcat being 
locked and compressor on. With starboard wildcat open and 
chain slack so that no resistance was offered, the engines were 
put astern at various speeds in order to obtain the results as set 
forth below. 

After one anchor had been tested it was hove up and put on 
deck while the other anchor was being tested in a similar way. 
Two anchors were used, one a regular stockless type weighing 
3,145 lbs. and one “ Eells ” weighing 2,375 lbs. 

Approximate dimensions of steamer with which tests were 
made are as follows: Length 150 feet,—breadth 34 feet,—draft 
mean 17 feet, with engines of 1200 horsepower. 

Following is a record of the tests in the order in which they 


occurred. „ 

First test: 11 A.M. off Stapleton, S.I. in 42 feet of water, soft 
mud bottom; strong ebb tide running. Regular stockless 
anchor 38 fathoms of chain outside. Engine l / 3 speed astern, 
anchor dragging, no strain on chain. 

Second test: 12 noon, same place and conditions. Eells 
anchor scope of chain as above. Engines l / 3 speed astern for 
about four minutes, anchor holding, engines put % speed astern, 
anchor dragging, strain on chain 3% tons. , 

Third test: 2:45 P.M. Vi mile outside entrance buoy to 
Ambrose Channel in 6 fathoms of water, hard sand and gravel 
bottom, 12 knot breeze, flood tide, slight sea, steamer pitching 
slightly. Eells anchor 53 fathoms scope, Engines Vs speed 
astern for few minutes, then % speed astern with gauge register¬ 
ing 6 tons strain and anchor holding, then engines full astern 
and anchor beginning to drag. ~ _ 

Fourth test: 4:15 P.M. Same place and conditions. Regu- 


628 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


lar stockless anchor same scope of chain. Engines % speed 
astern, anchor holding, then engines % speed astern anchor 
commencing to drag when gauge registered a strain of two tons. 






Eells Anchor 


Types of special anchors. 


Fifth test: 7:00 P.M. On lower spit of Red Hook Flats in 
6 fathoms of water, hard clay bottom, calm, sea smooth, strong 
flood tide, stocless anchor scope of chain as above. Engines 
started astern and gradually worked up to full speed, anchor 
holding registered strain on chain 6*/2 tons. Engines stopped 
and backed full speed three times, anchor commencing to drag 
on third attempt. 

Sixth test: 8:15 P.M. Same place and conditions. Eells 
anchor, same scope of chain. Engines gradually worked up to 
/3 speed astern, anchor then commencing to drag when gauge 
registered a strain of 6 tons on chain. 










GROUND TACKLE 


629 


Considering the previous tests it was concluded that the last 
test of the Eells anchor was not a fair test; but in view of the 
fact that it was getting dark no additional test could be made. 

This anchor is used to a great extent by wrecking companies, 
and seems to be well fitted for use as a stream anchor or a kedge 
because of its superior holding power. Anchors of the largest 
size, however, are built on this design. 

Trotman's anchor is notably free from fouling as the upper 
arm lies close to the shank. It.is really an old-fashioned anchor 
and has much to recommend it for use by sailers.* • 

The single arm mooring anchor is also free from fouling. It is 
a good anchor to put down as a permanent mooring; for ship use 
it is uncertain as the anchor may cant, fluke up , and the vessel 
drag for an indefinite distance. 

In anchor design extra large palms are not always an advantage 
as they are more liable to become shod and loose much of their 
holding power. This is specially so in clay bottom. 

Classification of Anchors 

Anchors are classed as follows: 

Bower anchors, the main working anchors of a vessel, are 
carried on or near the bow and are generally referred to as the 
Starboard and Port anchors. 

The spare bower anchor may be lighter in weight than the 
regular bowers, according to the rulings of the A.B.S. It is 
usually carried on deck, or on the forecastle head, where it can 
be put over the side by a boom and tackle from the foremast head. 

Sheet anchors are not generally carried by merchant craft, 
but are found in many naval vessels. These are usually carried 
abaft of the bower anchors and are provided with extra hawse 
pipes on either bow. In the old days the sheet anchors were 
carried on the rail well ait and just over the sheaves for the fore 
sheets. Sheet anchors are only let go in extreme emergencies 
when bower anchors drag or are carried away.f It is now the 
practice to carry only one sheet anchor. 

Stem anchors are coming into use and are very easily stowed 
in the stem hawse pipes fitted on some of the latest battleships 

* The Great Eastern carried ten bower anchors. Eight of them are said 
to have been 7,000 lb. Trotman anchors. 

f Called Vancre desperance by the French. 


630 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


and liners. These are heavy anchors, as large as, or larger than, 
the bowers. The stem anchor takes the place of the sheet 
anchor referred to above. 

These anchors constitute the main dependence of the vessel 
when anchoring is necessary during heavy weather. Bower and 
stem anchors range from a ton to fifteen tons in weight. How¬ 
ever the very largest working anchors are seldom over ten tons. 

Stream anchors are about one half as heavy as the bower 
anchors and are used for stern mooring in congested waters. 
These anchors are useful in many ways when an anchor has to 
be carried out and it is not necessary to use the bowers. The 
stream anchor may be stowed in a stern hawse pipe and may be 
handled by an after windlass, connected with the after capstan 
engine.* 

Kedges are about half as heavy as the stream anchor according 
to A.B.S. Rules. These are used for ordinary kedging work 
when a vessel may have to be moved about without power other 
than deck capstans and winches. It is well to carry at least 
two kedges. 

Grapnels make good boat anchors and are useful in many 
ways on board ship. If a wire or anchor chain runs overboard 
(the first often happens) a grapnel will bring it up if water is not 
too deep. One wire saved will pay for all the grapnels in the 
ship. The weights most common range from twenty to a hundred 
pounds. 

Boat anchors are usually of the old-fashioned type with metal 
stock and should run to about a hundred pounds for a large life 
boat. 

* There is no clearly defined practice relative to the use of stern anchors. 
The Germans have used them in many of their large naval vessels. On 
these ships a single anchor carried in a hawse pipe well aft, either at the side 
or on the centerline, has frequently been fitted. The British have followed a 
similar practice in such vessels as the Eagle and Argus , Furious , Courageous 
and Glorious , as well as in some light cruisers and monitors. Most of the 
capital ships in the United States Navy carry small stern anchors weighing 
5,000 or 6,000 pounds. They are not, however, carried in hawse pipes, but 
are stowed on deck and handled by means of crane or davit. In some of the 
United States gunboats, stern anchors are carried stowed on chocks on the 
weather deck aft. In such cases a collapsible anchor crane has frequently 
been fitted, so located as to plumb the stowage position, and of such outreach 
as to swing the anchor well clear of the vessel’s side .—Marine Engineering. 


GROUND TACKLE 


631 


Mushroom anchors are useful in securing mooring buoys, 
and in anchoring navigational buoys. They are seldom found 
on board ship. They range up to about five tons in weight and 
are hard to foul. 

Mooring clumps are concrete mooring weights fitted with 
heavy iron eyes. 

The classification societies require that anchors shall be 
severely tested both as to material and construction. 

When anchors have satisfactorily passed the American Bureau 
of Shipping* requirements they are to be clearly stamped by the 
manufacturer as follows: 


Ordinary Anchor 

A. The Number of Certificate. (Furnished 

by the Surveyor). 7147 

B. The Initials of the Surveyor who wit-. . 

nesses the Proof Test. X.Y.Z. 

C. Month and Year of Test. 3, 17 

D. Proof Test applied (lbs.). 76440 

E. Signifying that the Testing Machine is 

recognized by the Committee of the 
American Bureau of Shipping. A.B. 

F. The Weight of Anchor (excluding Stock) 

(lbs.). 4200 

G. The Weight of Stock (lbs.). 1050 


* Anchors are to be made of forged wrought iron, forged open hearth ingot 
steel, or cast steel; the shackles may be of wrought iron or of forged steel 
unwelded. 

Anchor stocks are to be in weight equal to one-fourth that of the anchor. 

Stockless anchors may be adopted, subject to the Committee’s approval 
and the addition of one-fourth to the weights for ordinary anchors; the 
weight of the head is not to be less than three-fifths of the total weight of the 
anchor. 

No vessel can be classed with the letter© unless the anchors have been 
tested and the weights are in accordance with requirements as to tonnage of 
vessel. 

All anchors are to be tested under the inspection of a Surveyor to this 
Bureau in a machine recognized for such purposes by the Committee of the 
American Bureau of Shipping. 

Prior to testing the actual weight of the anchor is to be ascertained. 

—Rules of A.B.S. 











632 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




Stockless Anchor 

A. The Number of Certificate. (Furnished 


by the Surveyor). 7147 

B. The Initials of the Surveyor who wit¬ 

nesses the Proof Test.X.Y.Z. 

C. Month and Year of Test. 3, 17 

D. Proof Test applied (lbs.). 76440 

E. Signifying that the Testing Machine is 

recognized by the Committee of the 
American Bureau of Shipping. A.B. 

F. The Weight of Anchor (lbs.). 4200 

G. Signifying that the Anchor Head has 

been tested by a Surveyor to the 
American Bureau. A.B. 

H. The Weight of Anchor Head (lbs.)_ 2520 

J. The Initials of the Surveyor who wit¬ 

nesses the Drop Test. X.Y.Z. 

K. The Number of Drop Test Certificate. 

(Furnished by the Surveyor). 4914 

L. Month and Year of Drop Test. 3, 17 


One side of the anchor should be reserved solely for the above 
marks, and the other side be solely used for the makers’ name 
or other trade marks that may be desired. If the design of the 
anchor does not admit of the above marks being placed or 
grouped as indicated, a suitable boss should be cast on each 
arm, on which the marks should be stamped. 


Ill 


Cables 

As important as the anchors themselves are the cables, or 
chain cables, to give them their full name, which attach to the 
anchor. In large vessels these are always made of stud link 
chain of either forged or cast steel. The 
characteristics of these cables are shown in 
the sketches. The stud in forged chain is 
forced into the link after it is formed and 
merely serves to keep the sides of the link 
from coming together under an excessive 
stress. It is said to add about 15 per cent to 
the ultimate strength of the chain. Studs also seem to keep the 



,_ Outside . 

Length 

A stud link. 




















GROUND TACKLE 


633 


chain free from kinks. Chain is tested in two ways, proof and 
breaking . 

A proof test (about 70 per cent of the required breaking test), 
is applied to each fifteen fathom shot of chain. The full breaking 
test is only given to selected experimental lengths of three links 
each cut from each fifteen fathom shot. 

Chain cable ranges in size up to 
four inches* (the diameter 



metal in a link). The A.B.S. IP" 


tables give the requirements for L - Length of 6 Links- 

3% inch chain as follows: 


Wrought iron and steel 

Breaking 588,320 lbs. 

Proof 425,370 lbs. 

Cast steel 

Breaking 824,000 lbs. 

Proof 588,500 lbs. 
Weight per fifteen fathoms 12,025 lbs. 


It will be noted that this is some chain. 

The reason why so much care is taken in testing chain cable 
is self-evident. 

The size of chain required for the various tonnages is deter¬ 
mined by the rules of the A.B.S. and must be strictly adhered to 
in order that a vessel may get her rating for equipment. Seamen 
who are interested in this matter should get the Rules of the 
American Bureau of Shipping. These can be obtained from the 
Bureau (the price is $5.00) or may be consulted in any public 
library. 

The following account of how an anchor chain is made is 
taken from an article by F. A. Collins which appeared in Collier's 
Weekly. 

“ The links (of a modern anchor chain) are a foot, or perhaps a 
foot and a half long. Such chains are forged and every detail of 
the work is carefully safeguarded. Every link must pass the 
most exacting tests. Link by link the great chain must be 
patiently built up. The iron used for the chain comes in long 
bars. The diameter of the bars is determined only after accurate 


4 y 4 inch chains have been made. 











634 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


calculations of its tensile strength. The bars are first cut in 
uniform lengths depending upon the size of the link. One end 
of the bar is then heated until it is more or less pliable, when it 
is slightly bent over. The enormous force ncessary to bend the 
bar is supplied by a powerful machine operated by hydraulic 
power. When both ends of the bar have been turned it is placed 
under a hammer which swedges out the curved ends to a point. 
To keep the link from slipping it is placed in a die cut in a place 
block. All this is the work of a few well-directed blows of the 
steam hammer. 

“ The link is now ready for the bending machine which is to 
press it into shape. The bar is heated and placed upon an 
ingenuous device that twists it into shape. The tons of pressure 
required are exerted by an hydraulic press and the bar takes 
the form of a link in a few seconds. A crew of three men is 
required for the work. Two men lift the bar and hold it in 
position while a third operates the hydraulic mechanism. It 
is, however, important that the work be done as quickly as 
possible before the metal cools. In fact it is necessary to heat 
the links several times during the process of bending and 
welding, and as the old forms of furnaces would be too slow, 
oil furnaces are used. 

“ Twenty or thirty of these giant links are placed in a furnace 
at one time and removed as quickly as they come to the proper 
heat. The workmen are obliged to use tongs 3 or 4 feet in length 
in placing the links in the furnace and removing them, for the 
heat is intense. The use of the oil furnace saves an immense 
amount of time in chain forging. 

“ Now that the link has been scarphed and bent it is ready 
for welding. The two flattened ends have been bent over until 
they overlap but without joining. Again the link is placed in the 
oil furnace and heated to the proper temperature, when it is 
placed beneath the hammers of the welding forge. Two husky 
workmen grasp the link with long tongs and swing it quickly to 
the welding machine while a third works the levers controlling 
the hammer. The end of the chain to which the new link is to 
be attached hangs just above the hammer. The heated ends 
are slipped through the last link of the finished chain, placed 
under the hammer and a few strokes welds the two ends together 
in a complete link. By so slow and painstaking a process is the 
great chain lengthened out link by link. 

“ After the welding the link is once more reheated in an oil 
blast furnace. This is a very delicate operation since it is an 
easy matter to carry the heating too far and a few seconds , 
miscalculation may burn the iron. The link has already been 
fastened to the chain, and if it is burned it is necessary to cut it 
away and replace it with a new link. A special form of oil blast 


GROUND TACKLE 


635 


furnace is used for this stage of the work. The end of the 
massive chain, which is coiled up near by, is carried over and 
suspended by a pulley directly above the furnace, where it is 
lowered into place. So intense is the heat that the workmen 
use plyers and welding devices mounted at the end of arms 
4 feet or more in length. Even these are handled with thick 
gloves. Only workmen of long experience are entrusted with 
this delicate part of the work. 

“ The link is now ready for its final shaping. The pounding 
it has received has forced it out of shape, and it is important 
that the links be uniform. It is again heated and placed in a 
steel die cut to the proper form. Another powerful hammer 
driven by hydraulic power now descends upon it and quickly 
forces it into the die, giving the link its true form. After a few 
strokes the link is taken from the die and the stud is inserted. 
The small cross bar found in these heavy chains prevents the 
links from becoming tangled up and relieves the strain. The 
cross bar is heated and set in place, when a single blow with the 
steam hammer makes it firm. It is unnecessary to weld this 
piece into position as carefully as the ends of the bar are joined 
in forming the link itself. 

“ The link is finished by hand. Once more, and for the last 
time, it is softened by heat. The finishing consists in cutting 
away all the rough edges of the link and the slight rough pro¬ 
jection at the ends. A smoother or rounded die is then held by 
hand over the rough parts of the link and a few smart blows 
with a hand hammer quickly smooths out all inequalities. 
This is the only part of the hammering which is now done by 
hand. Formerly all the hammering and welding was hand 
work which rendered the process much more laborious. The 
great sledge hammer blows of the steam hammer not only do 
the work much more quickly but the links thus formed are 
stronger than those forged by hand power alone. With the 
assistance of the steam hammer there is practically no limit to 
the size of a chain which may be forged. 

“ 3%" chain is the heaviest form used in the United States 
Navy, and is usually attached to the largest anchors. Each 
link when complete weighs 112 pounds. To handle these links a 
gang of four skilled workmen are required, a chainmaker, a 
hammer man, a tongs man and a hoist man. The work of 
each man is indicated by his name, and each becomes some¬ 
thing of a specialist in his line before he is entrusted with a 
great chain.” 

Stream chain is close link, without studs and is used for the 
stream anchor or on small or medium-sized vessels. 


636 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


d 


Oval 
Pin .. 


Anchor shackle. 


Cast steel chain has been developed in recent years, one 
link being cast into another with good success. The stud is 
cast directly into the link forming an integral part of the chain. 
The chain may be cast in two ways. The whole is cast as a 
continuous chain, or the process is made up of two steps. Whole 
^ links are cast; then, after these have been 
inspected and cleaned, connecting links are 
cast between the whole links. 

Anchor shackles are wider than joiner 
shackles , but in every instance the strength 
must be equal. Shackle pins are held in 
place by a forelock pin , usually of hickory. 

Sometimes a steel pin is used and this is pre¬ 
vented from coming out by setting it with a pellet 
of lead hammered down over the head of the pin. 

When a steel or iron pin is used it should be 
tinned to prevent rusting in. 

Swivels are provided to prevent the accumula¬ 
tion of turns in the cable. In merchant service 
practice a swivel is placed at three or four links 
from the anchor, where it will never come to 
the wildcat and where it can be examined 

when the anchor is housed in the hawse 
pipe. Only one swivel is used. In the 
merchant service all shots of chain are 
fifteen fathoms, throughout the length of 
the cables. 

In the navy outboard swivel shots of 
five fathoms are used next the anchor. 
These are y 8 " larger than the rest of the 
cable. 



= : H 

D 

Chilli Idlin' 

j M .^ 


Egg Shaped 
Pin 



Joiner shackle . 



A swivel. 


Marking of Chain Cables 

This is a most important matter and merits careful attention. 
The merchant service custom is to mark chain cable by turns of 
wire alone. The navy custom of painting the links white should 
be used by merchant seamen. 

* In the British navy a shot of cable is 12y 2 fathoms. 




























GROUND TACKLE 


637 



Merchant Service 

Navy 

15 fathoms 

One turn of wire on first 
stud from each side of 
shackle. 

One white link, next to 
shackle. 

30 fathoms 

Two turns of wire on sec¬ 
ond stud from each side 
of shackle. 

Two white links, next to 
shackle. 

45 fathoms 

Three turns of wire on 
third stud from each side 
of shackle. 

Third stud link on each 
side of shackle white, 
and three turns of wire 
on each painted links. 

60 fathoms 

Four turns of wire on 
fourth stud from each 
side of shackle. 

Fourth stud link on each 
side of shackle white, 
and four turns of wire on 
painted links. 

75 fathoms 

Five turns of wire on fifth 
stud from each side of 
shackle. 

Fifth stud link on each 
side of shackle white, 
and five turns of wire on 
painted links. 

90 fathoms 

Six turns of wire on sixth 
stud from each side of 
shackle. 

Sixth stud link on each 
side of shackle white, 
and six turns of wire on 
painted links. 


Where links are painted, these should be dried off and touched 
up with fresh paint as the chain comes in when conditions are 
favorable for this. Put plenty of dryer in the paint. 

Chain cables are ranged in a number of ways. 

If at anchor on a clean sandy bottom, with plenty of room to 
swing, kick the vessel astern with the engines, if tide and wind 
are not sufficient, and pay out chain to the bitter end. Clean 
the locker, and if time permits paint it. If the bottom is sharp 
clean sand it will do no harm to let the vessel ride around her 
cable before heaving in. Scrub off when heaving in slowly. 
Place an anchor buoy over your anchor when doing this sort of 
work. 

When in dry dock range the cable on the bottom of the dock. 
Lower anchor carefully, place on skids, and paint. The cable 
should be ranged in long fakes, all markings and shackles over¬ 
hauled, and all links sounded with a hammer. If a link does not 
seem to ring true go over it carefully for defects. 

A record should be kept in the maintenance book (more about 
this later on) showing just when and where the cables have been 


638 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


ranged. When ranging in a dry dock try to paint or mastic them 
before stowing. 

Swivels should be greased and all shackle pins should be 
backed out, examined and coated with white lead and tallow 
before assembling. 



Securing the Chain Cables in the Locker 
Some seamen prefer to have the ends of both cables shackled 
together and connected through the bulkhead separating the 
chain lockers. This is a bad practice. The bitter end of each 
chain should be passed through a link in the bottom of the locker 
and then up to the top of the locker to another 
link near the scuttle. Bring the chain up in a 
corner of the locker and stop it along the corner 
with small stuff to prevent it fouling the bight 
of the chain. The upper end should be lashed, 
or secured by a stout slip hook. 

When it becomes necessary to slip the cable, 
the bitter end can be cast loose without trouble, 
the stops will break. 

Chain cables vary in length according to the 
size of the vessel. 

The longest cables listed by the A.B.S., for an 
equipment tonnage of 26,500 tons, are 330 
fathoms. This length of cable is required for 
all vessels down to twelve thousand tons and 
then goes down by thirty fathom increments. 
The cable listed is of course divided between 
the two bower anchors, 165 fathoms o^ each anchor. 

Cables are attached to the anchors as follows: 

1st. Bending or anchor shackle (bow of shackles always on 
anchor side) into anchor shackle , or Jew's harp. As this is very 
heavy, the bending shackle has to be wide. 

2d. Extra heavy open link. 

3d. Stud link (or open link). 

4th. Swivel, bow toward anchor, swivel eye inboard. 

5th. Stud link (or open link). 

6th. Shackle (bow toward anchor). This shackles into first 
shot of the cable. 



Securing chain 
in locker. 




GROUND TACKLE 


639 


Note. Other methods are in use but this is recommended. 

End links , long end links (long link with stud to one end), 
and enlarged stud links are used in connecting swivels and 
shackles. 

The combination of links, swivel and shackles is called a 
swivel piece. 

Mooring swivels are used to connect two cables to a single 
swivel and this is shackeled to the chains leading into the hawse 
pipes from which the vessel is riding. 

A cable's length is 100 fathoms. 

According to A.B.S. Rules. Chains are marked as follows: 

After being weighed the shackles and the end links of each 
shot, and every 15 fathoms in the case of chain which is in one 
continuous length without joining shackles, are to be clearly 
stamped by the manufacturers as follows: 



A. The Number of Certificate. (Furnished by Surveyor). 8442 

B. The Initials of the Surveyor who witnesses the Test. X.Y.Z. 

C. Month and Year of Test. 3, 17 

D. The Breaking Test (lbs.). 211680 

E. The Proof Test applied (lbs.). 151200 


F. Signifying that the Testing Machine is recognized by the Com¬ 
mittee of the American Bureau of Shipping. 


IV 

The Windlass 

The windlass is a winding engine having a horizontal axle to 
which is keyed the worm or spur gear for applying power and 
the barrels , gypsies , and wildcats for hauling in rope or chain. 
These things have been mentioned briefly in the foreword to 
the present chapter. The illustration gives a good idea of the 
relation of these parts and the method of control. 


23 































640 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


To let go an anchor, the wildcats are unlocked and the brakes 
are applied. This holds the wildcats rigid with respect to the 
frame. The stoppers are then released, wherever they may be, 
either forward or abaft the wildcats and the chain is ready for 
letting go. The anchor, in the case of a stockless type, is let 
fall by releasing the pressure on the brake band, allowing the 
wildcat to revolve and lower the chain. This is a good method 
of letting go as it gives control over the run of chain. The chain 
can be held as soon as the anchor strikes bottom and only allowed 
to pay out as the vessel rides away from her anchor. 



Parts of a Windlass. — A, Brakes wheels on wildcats. B, Reversing control 
on engine. Operates the slip eccentric. C, Chain riding in the grip of 
wildcats ( sprockets). D, Main driving gear. E, Gypsie heads. F, Brake 
bands. G, Locking rings. H, Horizontal beam for shipping hand levers. 
I, Ratchets for pawls of hand power mechanism. 

To heave, in the wildcat is locked to the axle or shaft of the 
windlass, the brake band is released and steam, or other power, 
applied to the worm or pinion. 

In heaving up an anchor by hand, long brake beams are fitted 
in the cross head and these engage the turning gear by means 






GROUND TACKLE 


641 


of pawls. Heaving in by hand is a long, tedious job. Where the 
windlass is situated beneath a forecastle head the hand power is 
usually applied by a worm or pinion attached to the vertical shaft 
of a forecastle capstan. Power is then applied by means of 
capstan bars. This is the best method of heaving in by hand. 

The following directions apply to the Hyde steam windlass 
with forecastle deck capstan. This type is a worm gear windlass. 
The directions are as given by the maker. 



To Work Windlass by 
Steam Ahead and 
Heave in Chain 

For Windlass With 
Reverse Valve. Lock 
the Windlass. Start 
ahead by opening the 
throttle in steam pipe, 
and push the hand lever 
“ L ” of the reverse 
valve “K” forward 
and control the running 
of the engine by means 
of the lever or by the 
throttle valve as is most 
convenient. 

For Windlass With 
Slip Eccentric. Lock 
the Windlass. See that 
eccentric is set for run¬ 
ning ahead, open the 
throttle valve and con¬ 
trol by throttle. 

On either style of 
windlass, if it is not de¬ 
sired to run the capstan 
at the same time, throw 
out the pawls in the 
capstan worm gear “ H ” 
by turning the hand 
wheel “ G ” to the right 
hand, until it brings up. 

When running ahead, it 
is better to keep the 
backing pawl in the en¬ 
gine worm gear “ E ” 

thrown out, avoiding the noise it otherwise makes. 





































































642 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


To Stop the Windlass 

Windlass With Reverse Valve. Bring the reverse lever “ L ” 
back to central position if only stopping for a short time, but if 
stopping permanently, also close the throttle valve. 

Windlass With Slip Eccentric. Close the throttle valve. 

To Reverse Windlass for Veering Chain. See that the back¬ 
ing pawl in the engine worm gear “ E ” is thrown in, and the two 
pawls in the hand worm gear “ D ” are thrown out, then 

For Windlass With Reverse Valve. The throttle being open, 
pull the reverse lever “ L ” aft, and control as before. 

For Windlass With Slip Eccentric . See that eccentric is set 
to run backwards and start the windlass by opening throttle valve. 

To Work Windlass by Hand 

See that the backing pawl in engine worm gear “ E ” is 
thrown out, the two pawls in the hand worm gear “ D ” are 
thrown in, drop the pins into the two holes in the lower part of 
capstan barrel “ P ” and turn the capstan “ with the sun.” 

To Lock Windlass 

Turn the hand wheel “ B ” towards you, or from forward aft, 
making sure that the face of the projections on the wildcat 
“ C ” do not come in direct contact with the face of the projec¬ 
tions on worm gears “ E ” or “ D,” but that they go by and 
bring up against the rims of the worm gears in such a way that 
one projection will engage the other as in a clutch. 

To Unlock Windlass 

Turn the hand wheel “ B ” in the opposite direction until the 
nut brings up against the stop in the shaft. 

To Obtain Double Purchase on Windlass 

Throw out the go-ahead pawls in engine worm gear “ E ” 
and keep them out by the set screws provided for that purpose. 
See that the pawls in the hand worm gear “ D ” and the capstan 
worm gear “ H ” are thrown in. Start the windlass, and the 
capstan worm “ J ” on the forward end of the engine crank 
shaft will drive the upright shaft or capstan spindle “ O ” 
which in turn will drive the windlass through the hand worm 
“ I ” and gear “ D.” It is unnecessary to use this purchase 
under ordinary circumstances. 

To Veer Chain Without Using the Engine 

Unlock the wild cat “ C ” by turning the hand wheel “ B ” 
forward and until the nut brings up on stop in shaft, and control 
the wild cats by means of the friction brake levers “ M.” 


GROUND TACKLE 


643 


To Run Capstan by Steam 

Throw in the pawls in the capstan worm gear “ H.” See 
that the pins are in the holes in the lower part of the capstan 
barrel “ P ” and run the engines ahead as when running the 
windlass, at the same time having the wild cats thrown out. 

If it should be desired to run the capstan constantly, without 
working the windlass, the go-ahead pawls in the engine worm 
gear “ E ” may be thrown out and kept out by set screws pro¬ 
vided for that purpose. 

To Run Capstan by Hand 

Pull out the two-pins in the lower part of capstan barrel “ P.” 
Holes will be found in the base to hold these pins while not in 
use. Use as an ordinary hand capstan, turning head “ with 
the sun ” for speed, and “ against the sun ” for power. 

Use of Pins in Capstan 

The pins or toggles connecting capstan to shaft are only 
removed when capstan is to be worked by hand. 

Use of Friction Bands 

Ride only by friction bands “ R ” and with windlass unlocked. 
It is then ready to pay out chain at an instant’s notice. Windlass 
should be locked only when heaving in chain. Do not use oil 
on the friction bands. Keep the turnbuckles free from rust so 
they can be screwed up at any time. 

Working the Pawls 

To throw out the backing pawl in the engine worm gear “ E ” 
and the two pawls in the hand worm gear “ D,” pull the pawl 
lifter cam away from its seat one-eighth of an inch and give it 
half a turn to the left. 

To throw the same pawls in, turn the pawl lifter cam to the 
right or in the opposite direction. 

To throw out the pawls in the capstan worm gear H, turn 
the hand wheel “ G ” to the right or “ with the sun ” until it 

To throw these pawls in, turn the hand wheel “ G ” to the 
left, “ against the sun ” or in the opposite direction from above, 
until it brings up. 

Directions for Keeping Windlass in Order 

Oil holes will be found in the wild cats, in the nuts, and in the 
rims of the worm wheels. 


644 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Turn windlass by hand occasionally, to insure the oil working 
under the rims of worm wheels. Use sperm oil on all parts of 
windlass that are exposed, or where ordinary oil would “ chill.” 

Careful study of the foregoing instructions and drawings will 
give the seaman a very good idea of the operation of a modern 
windlass no matter what kind of anchor engine he may be ship¬ 
mates with. Always study the windlass in your ship, know how 
to work it on the darkest night. Do this no matter what your 
station may be. A Second Mate, Boatswain or Quartermaster, 
may be called upon to use the windlass, and generally would 
only be required to do so under extraordinary circumstances. 
The Chief Mate and Carpenter must know it thoroughly. 

A final word may be said about hand gear. Try it out with 
your crew on the first fine afternoon at sea. Release the wild 
cats, come up on the brakes (chain and anchors secured, of 
course) and give the windlass a good turning over, throwing the 
gear in and out a few times to make sure that every one under¬ 
stands its use. 

This same practice should extend to the hand steering gear as 
well. Here it would be just as well to steer for a half hour by 
hand.* 

* Anchor Engines are severely tested in the Navy. The following from 
U. S. Navy Specifications may be of interest here: 

The Anchor Engine should be tested on or before the official trial of the 
vessel by hoisting and lowering two bower anchors simultaneously, in 30 
fathoms of water or in the greatest depth of water obtainable in the vicinity 
of the building yard, continuously at the approximate rate of 6 fathoms of 
chain per minute. If the depth of water is less than 30 fathoms, weights shall 
be attached to the anchors to compensate for the lesser depth, the weight, 
however, not to exceed the weight of the anchor. The operation of the wind¬ 
lass and any heating of thrust and worm bearings should be noted. The 
windlass brake and locking device should be tested. 

In the case of steam windlasses the duration of the test should be one hour. 

In the case of electric windlasses the test should be divided into three 
divisions, viz., the wildcats being labeled “ A,” “ B,” and “ C,” the test shall 
be run continuously with all motors operating together as follows: “ A ” and 
“ B one-half hour; “ B ” and “ C one-half hour; “ C ” and “ B 
one-half hour. For further tests in deep water see p. 1448. 

The tests of evaporating and distilling plant, of refrigerating machines, 
of steering and anchor gear, and the bilge test of circulating pumps should be 
made before trials in free route. 

Anchor Engine Trials. With the vessel at sea in a depth of water exceed- 


GROUND TACKLE 


645 


V 

Coming To Anchor 

Coming to anchor involves many problems of pilotage and 
ship handling. The method of letting go will be described here. 

Having determined to come to anchor send word to the Chief 
Mate at once. (If entering port anchors should always be 
“ ready to let go.”) 

The men being at their stations, the commands are as follows: 

“ Stand by starboard anchor (or port), stand clear starboard 
chain! ” 

“ Aye, aye, sir! ” (All ready for letting go.) 

“ Let go! ” 

Then follow this command, or precede it, with instruction as 
to the amount of chain to veer. 

“ Forty-five fathoms at the windlass! ” (or thirty fathoms at 
the water), or whatever scope of chain is desired. Many officers 
prefer to name the shackle at the windlass, especially at night. 
The Carpenter should work the brake and watch the chain as it 
goes out, calling the shackles to the Mate who will be on the 
forecastle head watching the trend of the chain. As the chain 
runs out the Mate should indicate the trend to the Master on the 
bridge by the direction of his arm. At night he may call out, 
“ Chain up and down! ” as an indication that the vessel has 

ing 60 fathoms, one of the anchors shall be backed out until the 60-fathom 
shackle is at the water’s edge and the anchor clear of the bottom. The 
anchor shall then be hove in at a speed of at least 6 fathoms per min. and the 
results noted. Two of the anchors shall then be backed out simultaneously, 
one to 60 fathoms and the other 55 fathoms, so that two shackles will not be 
on the wildcat at the same time. The anchors shall then be hove up together 
at 6 fathoms per min. and the results noted. The single-anchor test shall be 
made twice, using a different windlass each time (also a different motor in 
case of electric windlasses). The two-anchor test shall also be made twice, 
using different pairs of windlasses for the two tests (using both motors in 
case of electric windlasses). The deep-sea tests shall be carried out under 
such conditions as will not cause fouling of the anchors and chains. All useful 
data shall be taken during both series of tests, such as speed of hoisting and 
lowering, temperature of bearings and worm gearing, etc. For electric wind¬ 
lasses there should be included the horsepower developed by the motors, 
and speed of motors. If there is only one wildcat the windlass test shall be 
conducted by hoisting and lowering one anchor instead of two. 


646 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


not sufficient way, either ahead or astern. Or he may sing out 
“ chain ahead! ” or “ chain leading aft! ” 

Team work in this respect is most valuable, especially at night. 
The Mate will control the run of the chain and should be care¬ 
ful not to let it go out too fast, nipping it on the wildcat with 
the brake. 

When the chain will not pay out and the desired scope has 
not run out. The Mate should advise the Master: “ Won't 
take chain, sir," or “ Chain not veering, sir! ” 

In coming to anchor a certain amount of sternboard is desir¬ 
able and only practice can determine how much. Vessels of 
heavy tonnage must be handled with greater care than smaller 
craft. Going astern, or ahead too fast may put a dangerous 
stress on the cable should the anchor bite into hard ground and 
get a sudden hold. Such stresses are dangerous as they tend 
to weaken, if not part, the chain. 

Where an old-fashioned anchor is carried and let go from 
the bill board, be careful to have the stoppers off and the windlass 


ready with wild cat under 
control of the brake. Do 
not have the wild cat 
bound too tight, but keep 
enough control over the 
brake to easily nip the 
chain as soon as the anchor 
. fetches bottom. In letting 
go from the bill board the 
anchor is said to be let go 
“ stock and fluke. ,, It is 
held by the ring stopper on 



Old-fashioned tripping gear. 


the cat head and the shank painter on the bill board. More 
modern rigs provide a tripping device as shown in sketch, letting 
go with one movement. 

Should it be necessary to come to anchor while the vessel has 
considerable way upon her, or is being swept along on a tide, 
veer as much chain as is safe, nipping the cable gradually. In a 
steamer the engines may control this and overcome the speed 
while the chain is running out. When at rest heave in to the 
desired scope. 


GROUND TACKLE 


647 


Coining to anchor on a sailing ship under unfavorable condi¬ 
tions is a test of seamanship. Where canvas cannot be set aback 
to check her way, the veering of chain is almost always necessary. 
Large yachts, running up to their moorings, are stopped by 
throwing the rudder hard over from side to side, shifting the 
helm before the yacht has a chance to swing. The rudder when 
hard over acts as a brake. A sailer should always, if possible, 
approach her anchorage by luffing up into the wind. 

When coming to anchor in deep water, say anything over ten 
fathoms, use great care in veering chain, as the weight of chain 
alone will cause it to run overboard after the anchor has reached 
bottom. If allowed to run it may pile up on the anchor and 
cause it to foul. 

Scope of Chain 

A safe rule to follow in coming to anchor is to allow five fathoms 
of chain to each fathom of depth in holding ground known to be 
good. When blowing veer more chain, ten or twelve to one. 
The “ five to one ” rule should always be the minimum scope 
unless there is not sufficient room to swing, when mooring must 
be resorted to. 

In bad weather, with poor holding ground, use judgment in 
giving the vessel more scope. 

Coming to anchor and handling ground tackle will be treated 
further in the chapters following, on management of steamers 
and sailers. 

VI 

Weighing Anchor 

When weighing anchor on a steamer or motor vessel ease the 
windlass by careful use of the engines and helm if necessary. 
The stations for weighing are similar to those for letting go. 
The Chief Mate should indicate the trend of the chain and call 
out the shackles as the chain comes in. Call out when at the 
water’s edge in the day time or when on the windlass, at night.' 
Always have a hose ready and wash off the chain as it comes in. 

“ Short stay! ” is reported when the anchor cable is in line with 
the fore stay. 

* A cargo light on the forecastle head is very handy at night, especially if 
the anchor comes up foul. 


648 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Up and down! ” when the vessel is right over her anchor 
and ready to “ break out.” 

“ Anchor aweigh! ” when the anchor leaves the bottom. 
This is generally indicated by the windlass engine picking up the 
chain with greater ease. 

If the anchor refuses to break out it is sometimes advisable to 
lock the windlass and give the vessel a kick ahead with the 
engines. This will usually trip the anchor and bring it free. 
If the hold is very hard stopper the chain before working the 
engines. 

“ Foul anchor! ” is reported as soon as in sight, or if the 
anchor is clear it is well to report “ Clear anchor! ” 

To clear a foul anchor some means must be found to cant 
the anchor clear, or to hang the anchor and clear by surging or 
slacking the chain. No definite rules can be laid down. Some 
officers have a wire clearing pendant already fitted. This is 
provided with a large fish hook and is handled on the forecastle 
by the capstan. It is generally easy enough to hook on with this, 
leading the pendant down through the bow chock. Then heave 
up and take the weight of the anchor. After that be guided by 
the manner in which the anchor is fouled. 

The worst instance of fouling that the writer can remember 
occurred when the Schoolship Newport picked up a waterlogged 
spar buoy, some thirty fathoms of close link chain, and a mush¬ 
room anchor, all incorporated with the ship’s own chain and 
anchor. This happened in the Hudson River with a strong tide 
running ebb, assisted by the current of the stream and a brisk 
north wind. 

Very often such things happen at a time when the power to 
maneuver the vessel is limited and to let go a second anchor is 
next to impossible. Fortunately stockless anchors are very free 
from fouling and this is perhaps their best recommendation. 

A final word about weighing. Never break out an anchor 
with a shackle on the windlass, if the hold is hard. Ease the 
shackle off and break out with the engines as recommended 
above. 

When an anchor is buoyed, pick up the buoy as soon as pos¬ 
sible. This should be fitted with a slip rope, so it can be hauled 
on board, after the turns have been taken out of it. 


GROUND TACKLE 


649 



Weighing from a Mooring 

When two anchors are down, circumstances permitting, veer 
chain on the anchor to which the vessel is riding strongest, sheer 
over toward the leeward anchor and heave in. When this 
anchor is up, hold your sheer and heave in on the second anchor. 

When anchored in a crowded harbor always keep steam on 
the windlass. 

VII 

Stowing Anchors 

Most anchors of the stockless type stow in the hawse pipes 
and require no special gear. Care must be taken in heaving in 
to not bring a heavy stress on the anchor after it is snug. Gen¬ 
erally no special means for securing the anchor are necessary. 


Stowing an old-fashioned anchor. Showing fish davit, guys, fish tackle, 
fish hook, balancing band. Fish fall (leading aft along deck), bill board. 
The sailor is about to “ pass ” the shank painter. 

Some ships make sure of the anchor by passing a heavy steel 
bar through the chain just over the inside end of the hawse pipe. 
This bar should be fitted with a lanyard and lashed to deck bolts. 





650 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The practice is not very safe as the other method, of locking the 
chain by a devil’s claw stopper, leaves the anchor free to let go 
without first lifting it by the windlass. 

Old-fashioned anchors usually stow on the bows. The best 
practice is to stow them on an anchor bed or bill board.* In 
sailing craft the anchor is lifted by means of a long fish pendant 
fitted to the foremast head in schooners and to the foretopmast 
head in square riggers. Many vessels carry a special fish davit 
for lifting the anchor. Steamers fitted with old-fashioned 
anchors almost all make use of a fish davit. 

As soon as an old-fashioned anchor comes up to the water’s 
edge, the fish tackle is overhauled, the fish hook is hooked in 
the balancing link , the fish tackle is rounded in, and as it picks 
up the anchor, the windlass is backed and the chain surged] to 
allow the anchor to rise to its bed. 

Cat heads (the small projection or davit fitted on the bow to 
lift the anchor) are seldom met with nowadays. In the old days 
two falls were used. The cat fall, reeving through shieves in the 
cat head and fitted with a cat hook on the lower block. This was 
a threefold purchase. The cat hook took hold of the ring of 
the anchor. The fish tackle was generally a twofold purchase 
and was extended out over the bow by the fish boom , pivoted in a 
gooseneck on the forward side of the foremast. The fish hook 
was hooked under the fluke of the anchor. Both of these ancient 
contraptions lifted the anchor up to its bed on the bill board, 
where it was secured, as stated before, by ring stopper (to cat 
head) and shank painter (to bill board). 

In sailing craft on deep water 
voyages, it is the fashion to un¬ 
shackle the chains and bring them 
in to the windlass, after the vessel 
is well off soundings. The anchors 
are roused in by deck tackles and 
securely lashed. 

On the Great Lakes many of the 
An anchor pocket. large ore and grain carriers stow 

* In old wooden ships an iron-shod board that protected the ship from 
injury by the bill of the anchor. 

t To surge a chain or hawser is to slack it off. 










GROUND TACKLE 


651 


their anchors in anchor pockets or stowing boxes as shown in 
the sketch. This avoids trouble where vessels are scarphed , 
bows and quarters in close contact alongside of wharves. It 
also is useful in protecting the anchors when working through 
narrow canal locks. 

VIII 

To Lay Out An Anchor 

This operation is seldom necessary in the merchant service. 
In men of war it is practiced frequently when ships must moor 
in more or less dangerous ground and in places unprovided with 
permanent moorings. Naval vessels generally carry special gear 
for this work. 

However when an anchor is to be placed some distance away 
from the vessel the occasion is liable to be one of necessity and 
the work must be done with dispatch. Kedge and stream 
anchors are easily handled in ship’s boats having a square stern, 
but in the average high-sided double-ended life boat great care 
must be taken in slinging the anchor. Large stream anchors are 
best handled by the use of two boats securely lashed side by 
side with stout spars. 



Carrying out an old-fashioned anchor with two boats. A stockless anchor 
would be slung with flukes horizontal, close under boats, and anchor shackle 
up near gunwales. 


When a bower anchor is to be carried out use two boats side 
by side. Sling the anchor between them and coil five fathoms of 
the wire hawser in the boats. Making certain that the bight of 
wire leading back to the vessel is securely lashed with strong 
new ratline stuff. Have an axe handy to cut this BEFORE 



























652 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


letting go. The wire is payed out by the ship when bringing the 
anchor into its desired place. 

At best an anchor cannot be carried out with ship’s boats 
unless weather and sea are moderate, and then every precaution 
must be taken to avoid accidents. The rails of life boats are 
not strong and cross spars must be well chocked to carry the 
weight down into the bilge of the boat. 



A stockless stream or kedge slung over stern of boat. 
Cable not shown. 


Means must be provided for slipping the anchor, either by 
the use of a pelican hook or by means of a strong toggle and a 
heavy rope strap. If the anchor is a large one, make a strap of a 
number of turns of light flexible wire rope and use a strong steel 
bar for the toggle. 

An anchor layed out in this fashion should be provided with a 
strong trippling line, clove hitched and stopped, about the crown. 
When a stockless anchor is used be careful not to place the 
tripping line so that it will interfere with or jamb the motion of the 
arms. 

Keep as much gear off of the anchor as possible. 

Keep the anchor up between two boats with shackle in sight 
until ready to let go. This is the most certain rig for all purposes. 

If only one boat is available the anchor must be slung under 
the boat by a bridle. The bridle is passed around the belly 
of the boat in the wake of extra spreaders and chocks, and the 
anchor is slung by a hanging line made fast to the bridle. A 






























GROUND TACKLE 


653 



Stream anchor carried in large square stern boat. A, A, Skids. D, 
capstan bar. B, Stock lashing. C, Shank lashing. Cable not shown. 
Anchor is dropped by lifting forward ends of A A. 


third line called the lowering line is also hooked into the balancing 
band, or sling, on the anchor and serves to lift it from the ship 

and to lower it down under the boat 
until the bridle and hanging line take 
the weight. When the anchor is let go 
in this way considerable gear goes 
down with it. 

When laying out an anchor always 
attach a buoy to the anchor. When a 
weighing or tripping line is used bend 
the buoy rope to this line at a point far 
enough from the anchor so that the 
buoy rope will bring the bight of the 
tripping line to the surface at high 
tide. This is useful when about to 
get the anchor. 

When securing a rope hawser to 
an anchor use a clinch as shown 
in the sketch. Some prefer a 
round turn and two half hitches, the 
end secured by stout seizings. The clinch, however, cannot jam. 



An inside clinch. 


















































CHAPTER 18 


HANDLING A STEAMER 

I 

Foreword 

We have now come to the part of seamanship where every¬ 
thing else that has gone before has been in preparation. The 
actual handling of large vessels comes to most men after a long 
apprenticeship. But in late years many youngsters have stepped 
up very fast and many of these have much to learn. Formerly a 
man went to sea for twenty years before getting command, now 
the trick is often done in one fourth of the time. Youngsters 
are not four times as clever; we are simply living in a more rapid 
age. Opportunities for advancement are very great, and the 
obligations going with the opportunities have increased tenfold 
at least. 

The officers on the bridge and the Master in command simply 
have to buckle down to the constant study of their great work. 
Nowhere, except at sea, do men have absolute control of such 
vast forces as we find on board ship. A vessel of the largest 
class combines within itself a concentration of power utterly 
unknown ashore. When afloat there is no such thing as “ shut¬ 
ting down the works,” there is no “ going home at night ” and 
forgetting things until the next day. No one can quit—quitting 
at sea is mutiny. 

Sympathetic, well-meaning people ashore look upon many of 
the customs at sea as harsh and cruel. The fact is that the sea 
itself is absolutely relentless in its laws. The finest vessel 
afloat would meet with disaster and possibly the loss of many 
lives, if the men on board did not hold themselves constantly 
responsive to the great dangers that always surround them. 

In ship handling only the broadest principles can be set down. 
Vessels built from the same plans differ in their ways. Every 
cargo brings with it alterations in the trim and stability of the 

654 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


655 


same vessel. The progress of the voyage, with bunker weights 
constantly diminishing, causes further alteration in the qualities 
of handling. Wind and sea conditions are always changing, and 
as a vessel progresses from the time of her last docking her 
bottom becomes coated with marine growths and her maneuver¬ 
ing power becomes less and less. This condition was brought 
home to the writer with great force during the first voyage of the 
S. S. American , Captain George McDonald, on her two passages 
through the Magellan Straits. Outward bound we were clean, 
going to the westward, and made all anchorages. Homeward 
bound a foot of grass trailed from her plates and all anchorages 
were missed, often by a small fraction of an hour. Only the 
finest seamanship prevented the vessel from meeting with dis¬ 
aster while afloat off Field’s Anchorage during a night of constant 
snow and willa waws. 

The varying quality of fuel also has much to do with the 
handling of vessels. 

Certain hull appendages are found on the wetted bottom of 
merchant vessels and effect the handling. These are rudder 
and rudder post, shaft struts or bossing (sometimes called 
spectacle frames), the bilge keels , and in rare cases bar keels. 

The changing elements make ship handling anything but a 
precise business. Also, no two men will do a similar piece of 
work in the same way. They may follow general principles but 
each individual will have many ideas and wrinkles of his own. 
Also, no shipmaster worth his salt imagines he knows it all and 
every one of them learns new things, and is on the lookout for 
them, on every voyage. 

II 

Anchoring 

Before coming to an anchorage, if time permits, ascertain all 
facts available about the conditions that exist. The seasonal char¬ 
acteristics, storms, tides, bores (look out for these in the large 
river anchorages), the character of bottom, depths, room to swing, 
bearings, ranges, lights, etc., are a part of the art of piloting and 
have a direct bearing upon the selection of an anchorage. 

When coming into an anchorage during the high stage of the 
tide be specially careful not to touch. Have leadsmen in both 


656 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


stands, sounding as you go in, and anchors always ready. It is 
also a good precaution to have a lead line in the running boat, 
or motor launch. Where there is any doubt send a boat ahead of 
the ship and sound as you go in, keeping the boat so far ahead 
that you can easily stop if the water shoals. 

Such precautions are looked upon with great favor by the 
underwriters who have to foot all bills for carelessness. No one 
will criticize a master for seamanlike precaution. When he gets 
his ship into trouble, however, a thousand critics stand ready to 
tell him what he should have done. The Standard Seamanship 
does this for him in advance. 

Many harbors are effected by currents during different stages 
of the tide. Your vessel may be going over the ground at a good 
rate of speed, even though she has very little way upon her 
through the water. Watch bearings ashore and pick up natural 
ranges where possible. 

Having selected an anchorage, be certain that the vessel has 
sufficient room to swing. Anchoring in a crowded harbor calls 
for great judgment. Note, if possible, the manner of anchoring 
of other vessels, whether riding to single anchors or whether 
moored. Figure out their position at different stages of the 
tide. Note whether they are tide rode or wind rode.* 

The navy has developed the use of the mooring board , but 
this method of plotting the moorings of vessels with relation to 
each other is a refinement hardly necessary for merchant craft. 
It is a good plan, however, to strike off a circle on the chart 
about the point of dropping anchor , using the scope of chain as 
radius. This will show the limits of swing at all stages of the 
tide. 

Riding at Single Anchor 

A vessel riding at single anchor should have as much cable 
out as is necessary. Never ride to a short scope unless com¬ 
pelled to do so because of lack of room. Have at least five times 
as much chain out as there is depth. Remember that it is always 
better to veer chain as the weather makes up before the anchor 
begins to drag. 

* Tide rode swinging to the tide. Wind rode swinging to the wind. Often 
a vessel will be both tide rode and wind rode at the same time. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


657 


A vessel at single anchor should normally ride with a sheer 
away from her anchor. That is, if the port anchor is down give 
the vessel a small amount of port helm. This steadies the vessel 
and prevents her from yawing about. Under 
severe conditions *of wind and sea a vessel at 
anchor should be steered, giving her a small 
sheer. 

As the tide slacks and the wind makes up, 
perhaps from a different quarter, a vessel may 
break her sheer. That is, she will swing off 
before the new forces and may carry a long 
bight of loose chain with her. A vessel riding 
to a weather tide may be taken by the wind 
and carried across her anchor at slack water, 
tripping or fouling it. 

Tending ship at anchor is an art somewhat 
neglected on steamers. The sailer must tend ship. The steamer 
may almost always avoid serious trouble by use of the engines. 

When a vessel is about to break her sheer, it may be advisable 
to heave in, if riding to a long scope, and then veer chain again 
on the making up of the new tide. 

An officer should always be on deck at the turn of the tide. 
As this time is known he can easily be called before she begins 
to swing. In heavy weather many Masters insist upon an officer’s 
anchor watch. This is reasonable, as the conditions are gen¬ 
erally such that quick action is necessary by someone who has 
been awake and knows how the vessel is riding. 

A drift lead should always be over the side in heavy weather 
or tide. 

Where a vessel lies to an anchor for long periods, it is a good 
plan to heave in at slack water and sight the anchor at frequent 
intervals. 

Also, note the way in which the vessel turns at each tide by 
recording the headings in the log book. This will give some 
idea of what is happening to the anchor and the chain. 



Riding to port 
bower. Sheer 
with port helm. 



658 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


III 

Backing an Anchor 

When riding to a single anchor, weather making up, it may 
sometimes be necessary to add to the holding power of the 
anchor that is down by backing it with a second anchor. This 
however is an extreme case and might only be resorted to after 
both anchors had failed to hold the vessel and engines were 
either out of order or unable to stem the storm. 

A spare bower or stream anchor would be got up, a length of 
the heaviest wire in the ship rove through one of the anchor 
shackles outside of the hawse pipe, and carried inboard to the 
anchor. Lower the anchor and heave in on the wire. Then 
lash or shackle the anchor to the cable. If sufficient wire cable 
is available veer this overboard from the bow chock as the cable 
with the backing anchor is veered. Vessels are often blown 
ashore when hurricanes and other great storms sweep over them. 
With three anchors down, one of them a backing anchor, and 
steam up, engines going ahead, almost any storm can be weath¬ 
ered. It is a good plan to consider such possible work in advance 
and have the gear ready for use. It may never be used—but 
you never can tell. 

IV 

Mooring 

Mooring is often necessary in congested anchorages and in 
such narrow anchorages as Port Churruca and others in the 
Magellan Straits. In coming to a mooring it is well to put down 
the anchors in a line with the main strength of the tide, and if 
possible have one anchor laid out in the direction from which 
the most severe storms are expected. Often, however, these 
things are uncertain and the best all ’round arrangement is 
resorted to. 

The method of mooring is to come up to the point of dropping 
the first anchor, to let go and ride along, veering chain in the 
meanwhile until the point of dropping the second anchor is 
reached. This is then let go and as the second cable is veered, 
the first is hove in until the vessel rides on a span one anchor 
ahead and one astern. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


659 



Mooring. — 1, Riding to port an¬ 
chor. 2, Riding to both anchors. 
3, Slacking off port cable and rid¬ 
ing to starboard anchor. Cables 
clear. 


When the tide or wind swings her across the lines of the 
mooring she will bring a great stress on the anchors (see composi¬ 
tion of forces) and it is often neces¬ 
sary to veer chain. Sometimes it 
is possible to veer chain on one an¬ 
chor and ride from the other. 

The reader will see at once that 
many combinations of mooring 
anchors and buoys are possible. 

Where a vessel is to ride to a 
mooring for some time it is advis¬ 
able to place a mooring shackle 
outside of the hawse to take care 
of possible turns. 

Clearing hawse where a vessel 
gets turns in her cables is an 
operation that cannot always be 
avoided. One chain (the cable 
with the least stress upon it) is 
secured below the turn by a clear 

hawse pendant brought in over the bow chock to the forecastle 
head capstan or the gypsie head of the windlass. This is hove 

taut, and the chain is unshackled 
on board, passed out through the 
hawse pipe, after hooking or 
shackling it to a hawser that has 
been passed down through the 
pipe and dipped around the 
standing cable. This hawser 
(dipped in the opposite direction 
of the turns in the cable) is hove 
upon and takes the loose end of 
the second cable clear of the rid¬ 
ing cable and hauls it on board. 

All of this in one operation 
aided by a lot of intelligent pur- 
suasion. 

The best plan is to tend hawse 
and never let the cable get more than a half turn, or elbow, 
before taking it out at the following swing of the tide. 



Mooring. — 1, Riding to port 
anchor. 2, Riding to both an¬ 
chors. 3, Riding to starboard an¬ 
chor. (Port cable slacked off.) 
Half turn in cables. A half turn 
in cables is also called an “ elbow.” 





660 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A flying moor is a fancy stunt that youngsters look upon as 
smart. The vessel slams up to her mooring at a fair speed, 
drops her hook and lets the cable go out with a shower of rust 
and sparks, snubbing the ship with the windlass brakes. As she 
comes to a rest, drop the second anchor, veer chain on this, and 
heave in on the first. The method is the same as a regular moor 
but the vessel may be going four or five knots when the first 
anchor is dropped. The scope of chain to let run before checking 
the speed of the ship with the windlass is a matter of judgment 
and the amount of swinging room available. 

The flying moor is hard on all parts of the ground tackle and 
should not be used unless necessary. 

V 

Coming Alongside 

This evolution is performed very frequently by merchant 
seamen and presents no special difficulty on smooth-sided 
vessels with ample power. Only where the vessel is large and 
tide or wind conditions are severe and tugs are not available, is 
there much danger. 

The best ship handlers always make it a point to know exactly 
what conditions are to be expected at all stages of the tide and 
they choose their time for docking accordingly. In the harbor 
of New York many men dock at any stage of the tide, meeting 
conditions as they exist. The main thing to have in mind is to 
know what conditions will prevail during the period of docking. 

The following practical notes have been written for Standard 
Seamanship by Captain Robert A. Bartlett of the Army Trans¬ 
port Service. These notes relate to the method of docking large 
liners at the Army Transport Base in Hoboken. 

Have slip clear of all lighters on both sides. 

If pier is covered have five or six camels or floats secured along 
th6 dock, to keep the vessel away from the string piece and to 
permit discharge water to go overboard clear of the dock. 

Hoist a signal at the end of the dock to be used. A red flag is 
convenient and warns off other vessels also, preventing any 
misunderstanding as to which dock and which side is to be used. 

At the corner cluster piles have a large paunch mat fender 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


661 


securely lashed to the piles. The piles should be secure. When 
the cluster piles at the dock end are not suitable use a strong 
camel lying at the corner of the dock and well secured against 
slipping by wire springs. The dock corner will act as a turning 
point for the vessel when she springs around into the slip. 

The best time to dock at the Hoboken piers is at slack water 
high, just before the beginning of the ebb tide. 

Place the vessel heading up stream bringing her to a stop about 
one hundred and twenty feet out from the bulkhead line, the 
bow a little beyond the middle of the slip, the docking pier on the 
port hand. Vessel to be put alongside on the north side of the 
pier, that is on the side against which the tide will presently be 
running. 

A tug is sent to the port bow and takes two 12-inch manila 
lines, running them half way up the dock. The Docking Master 
has his crew ready to place these lines on posts and to shift 
them ahead as required. These lines are referred to as No. 1 
and No. 2. They lead to capstans on the forecastle. 



Types of roller chocks. 


The tug then takes a third line from the port bow as a tow 
line. If the tide or wind is strong a second tug is put on the 
port bow with a towline. 

The tugs, and lines 1 and 2, cant the bow into the slip and the 
vessel’s side against the camel or fender. 

From eight to ten tugs take hold against the port quarter and 
start working her up against the beginning of the ebb. The 
ship is worked ahead very slowly with the engines. As she 
works into the slip and the tide makes up stronger the forward 
tugs on the port quarter drop off and stand by to take lines from 
the starboard quarter if needed. 

Springs are put over as she works into the slip and if a heavy 
wind is blowing from the north a 12-inch line is sent from the 
starboard quarter to the corner of the pier to the north. 








662 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The whole operation is simple and depends upon everyone 
understanding the method and attending strictly to business. 
The Captain and the Dock Master are the only ones giving orders. 



Use docking telegraphs fore and aft on the vessel, and signals to 
the dock. The Chief Mate, on orders from the bridge, shifts the 
bow lines. 

Docking with a flood tide bring the vessel up the river and 
turn her with the aid of tugs. This should be done just before 
the tide begins to run strong, or just before slack water high, if 
there is not too much water in the slip at low tide. 

The principle is to always have the tide make against the side 











HANDLING A STEAMER 


663 


of the dock to which the vessel is to lie. It is very difficult to 
hold a vessel against a dock with the tide running in under the 
dock at its outer end and pushing her off. 

The vessel should always stem the tide. 

With a heavy wind and a high light vessel the 
wind may take hold and modify the effect of the 
tide. 

Always come alongside slowly. 

Use heaving lines in leading out warps and 
springs from the quarter chocks. Never send the 



A roller head 
fair lead . 


line until all is ready, as the lines may easily foul the propellers. 

Large vessels can leave the piers at any stage of the tide. The 
stern is held up against the tide by tugs, either pushing or pulling, 
or both. When the tide is setting the vessel away from her 
berth great care must be taken to have two or three powerful 
tugs on the up-tide quarter already taking a pull as the vessel 
backs out. If being set down against the pier the vessel will 
not pivot so fast on the corner piles or the camel, and the pushing 
tugs come in and take hold as she leaves the slip. Be certain 
that the tugs are ready at their station at the bulkhead before 
backing out into the stream. 

Long liners must be turned by tugs as the North River is not 
wide enough for them to swing alone. 

From ten to twelve tugs are needed to dock a large vessel 
under the above conditions. 

Captain Bartlett has outlined the conditions under which the 
longest* ships are handled in one of the worst docking ports of 
the world. Where vessels enter a tideless basin, or one without 
current, the problem of handling is greatly simplified. 

The spring is the most useful means of handling a vessel 
along side of a dock. Spring lines lead at a slight angle with 
the keel and are used to “ spring in ” or “ spring out ” the bow 
or stern, or where two spring lines are used at the same time 


* Among merchant ships, the Leviathan , 950 feet long, is the longest, with 
the Imperator and the Aquitania , each 900 feet long, coming next. Among 
warships, are the Renown , and her sister, the Repulse , each being 789 feet. 
The longest of all is the British battle-cruiser Hood } which is 900 feet in 
length and about 42,000 tons full load displacement. Our Navy has building 
six battle-cruisers 875 feet in length. See page 7. 



664 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the vessel can be bodily 
moved in or out or pivoted 
depending upon the direction 
of the springs and the motion 
given the vessel with the en¬ 
gines. Diagrams of the ac¬ 
tion of the spring are not 
very satisfactory, but at least 
they serve to show some of 
its uses. Surging and Rend¬ 
ering are terms used by sea¬ 
men when slacking off heavy 
lines under stress, to prevent 
lines from parting or to assist 
in maneuvering. Be careful 
that wet lines do not get out 
of hand. 

Springs are always used in 
tying up at a dock and these, 
in conjunction with breast 
lines , and bow and stern lines 
constitute the regular moor¬ 
ing lines of vessels alongside of a dock or wharf. 



Tying up a large vessel. — A, Bow lines. B, Stern lines. C, Breast lines. 
D, Springs. E, Cross springs. F, Camels or fender logs. 


Fire Warp 

Many officers when placing their ships alongside of a wooden 
shed, or one filled with combustible materials, make it a practice 
to lead a fire warp from the inshore end of the vessel to a corner 
of the wharf. This is held in beckets just below the rail, or may 
simply rest on the string piece of the wharf. It is led to the 
forward capstan if bow in, or to an after capstan or winch, if 
stern in. 



A y Working stern clear with en¬ 
gines. B, Tide and wind send bow out. 
C, Springing off parallel to dock. D, 
Winding around corner of dock. S, 
Spring lines. 















HANDLING A STEAMER 


665 


Should a fire start ashore, engines probably being out of com¬ 
mission, or boilers cold, the fire warp will throw the vessel clear 
of the slip, all other lines being cast off. The vessel can then 
drift clear and anchor, or be picked up by a tug. 

VI 

Going Alongside Another Vessel 

The art of placing a fairly large craft alongside of another 
vessel while in a tideway is not generally understood by seamen. 
The fact that merchant vessels as a rule do not have to perform 
this evolution, except on rare occasions, leaves the matter very 
much in doubt in the minds of many. One branch of the navy, 
the Naval Auxiliary Service, has long been a fine school for ship 
handlers. Here the colliers and supply vessels are ordered 
about by some crusty old admiral and the young skippers just 
go where they are told. The excellent training received by the 
collier masters has been reflected in their records during the 
World War. 

Commander E. V. W. Keen, of the Naval Reserve Force 
has written a most interesting and valuable set of notes for 
Standard Seamanship , covering the handling of a collier, single 
screw, and bringing her alongside of a battleship. Of course his 
instructions are applicable to the bringing alongside of any two 
vessels. Commander Keen has translated his helm instructions 
into merchant service practice. 

General Remarks 

No definite rules can be made for the successful handling 
of a steamer while going alongside another ship, wharf, or in 
mooring to a buoy, which will not bear adverse criticism. Opin¬ 
ions among seamen differ very much in this respect. Some 
advocate one procedure, and some, another. It is a known 
fact that different steamers, under similar conditions, act differ¬ 
ently. Therefore the following suggestions, the result of prac¬ 
tical experience, are to be taken accordingly. 

Going alongside another ship at anchor in a harbor, river or 
narrow channel is one of the difficult jobs a shipmaster has to 
do now and again. In the Naval Auxiliary Service, it becomes 
more or less easy, as you are continually called upon to perform 
this duty at all hours, under favorable and unfavorable condi¬ 
tions, and practise in this, tends to perfection. 


666 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The type or class, of vessel discussed here is the average 
cargo vessel of low power, about 7000 tons displacement, length 
410 feet, draft, loaded 24 feet, speed 9% knots, horsepower 1400, 
with right-handed screw propeller. It is surprising how far a 
vessel of the above type will travel before coming to a standstill, 
even with little headway and engine going full astern. The 
distance required by the steamer, mentioned above, running 
half speed, 5 knots ahead in slack water, to come to a standstill, 
with engine full astern is about 1100 to 1300 feet or over three 
times the vessel's length. Running at full speed 10 knots, 
between six and seven times the vessel’s length. 

Caution 

When you have a narrow channel, or congested harbor to 
navigate, which is usually the condition under which you will 
go alongside another ship, keep as little headway on as possible. 
Bear in mind, that should your order for half, or full speed ahead, 
not be answered as soon as reasonably expected by you (due no 
doubt to some hitch which may arise while handling the engine) 
no serious damage may result. But the result may be quite 
different if you have a fair amount of headway on and there is 
some unexpected delay in answering your signal for half or full 
astern. 

Turning Effect—Rudder and Screw 

Most single screw steamers are fitted with what is termed, a 
right-handed propeller, meaning that while in motion ahead, 
it turns from port to starboard, or like the hands of a watch. 
A right-handed screw, turning over slowly ahead, with rudder 
amidships, and other influences eliminated, such as wind, tide, 
etc., has a tendency to cause the ship’s stern to travel to star¬ 
board and bow to port. As the speed is increased this tendency 
to cause the ships stern to travel to starboard is diminished. 
The screw going ahead has its greatest turning effect upon bow 
and stern while turning over slowly. In backing, this condition 
is reversed, the screw turning counter-clockwise. The ship’s 
stern will travel to port, bow to starboard, and as the speed is 
increased the bow and stern will travel to starboard and port that 
much faster. The screw in going astern has its greatest effect, 
upon bow and stern while turning at full speed.* 

Backing—Rudder Has Little Effect 

The greatest turning effect on the ship’s head is that of the 
rudder, when the screw is going full speed ahead. When the 

* Note this—Greatest turning effect of screw. 

Going ahead—slow. 

Going astern—fast. 

Author 




HANDLING A STEAMER 


667 


screw is going full speed astern, the rudder has little effect. 
This effect can be changed slightly by varied conditions of draft 
and, too, there are times when it is possible to back your ship 
in a straight line due to wind, sea and tide. But in the majority 
of cases you will invariably find that the rudder has little effect 
in backing and that your bow, irrespective of rudder, will swing 
fast to the starboard and stern to port. 

Effect of Wind and Tide 

Vessel going ahead slowly, engine full astern, 
ship’s head will go to starboard from 30° to 50° 

(angle S.) while traveling 400 to 600 feet, helm 
hard astarboard. If it is possible first go to port 
by putting the helm hard astarboard full ahead 
until she starts to swing and then stop her. In 
backing the propeller will swing bow to star¬ 
board and straighten her out. 

Wind, sea and tide effect all maneuvers. The 
latter has the greatest effect upon a vessel fully 
laden. In maneuvering, or entering a narrow 
channel, it is advisable to stem rather than travel with it. There 
are times when a sea may have a great effect upon a light ship, 
this when in open water. 

Wind has its greatest effect upon a light vessel and it is sur¬ 
prising how quickly a steamer (light draft), having no headway, 
will fall off from the wind. If on even draft, fore and aft, exposed 
surfaces equal, she will bring the wind abeam. If down by the 
stern, say 8 or 9 feet, she will bring the wind abaft the beam. 
If in open water the engine be reversed while the vessel has 
little headway with head to wind, she will, in a short time, turn 
stern to wind by falling off to starboard. A vessel fully loaded 
or light, no wind, in a fair sea and stopped she will gradually seek 

her own position and in most 
l cases it will be the trough of 
j the sea, and when in this po- 
J sition, by reversing engine her 
5 stern will sooner or later head 
| into the sea. 

I Backing and Filling (Steamer) 
To turn a vessel in a limited 
space slack water, endeavor 
I to get all the way you possibly 
can off the vessel before you 
| put your helm over. Assum¬ 
ing the vessel is nearly 
stopped, put your helm hard 
a port and go full speed ahead. 




Ship going 
ahead Screw 
backing 










668 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


(1) When she starts to swing, and before she gets much 
headway, stop her and let her run as far as prudent (if in a 
strange harbor, be sure to study the chart well, noting all imme¬ 
diate danger). (2) Keep your lead going and have both anchors 
ready for letting go, then go full astern helm amidships. When 
she has lost her headway, put helm hard a starboard. After 
backing as far as you may go, put your helm hard a port and go 
full speed ahead. (3) Repeat this maneuver till the vessel turns 
completely around, which usually is after two or three backings 
and fillings. 

The reason for going full speed ahead, and then astern, is 
because a vessel under these conditions swings much faster, 
due to the action of the water from the propeller on the rudder. 
It has its greatest effect in deep water. 

To Turn to Port — Right-hand Screw—Using Port Anchors 

It would be quite difficult, under the above conditions, to 
make the turn to the port, that is going ahead on a starboard 
helm, as the angle gained in going ahead would be practically 
lost in backing. It would, however, be the way to turn if your 
vessel were fitted with a left-handed propeller. Of course, 
there are times when one is compelled to swing to the port and 
make the turn. If this is the case proceed as above with your 
helm hard a starboard and having run as far as prudent let go the 
port anchor veer 10 to 15 fathoms of chain (perhaps less, no 
definite amount can be stated you must be guided by the amount 
of water and kind of bottom), then go full astern. 

In veering chain, you will note that it leads well astern and 
that the stern is swinging fast to starboard. When the vessel 
brings up on the chain, it may drag the anchor, if you have a clear 
bottom, no cables to hook on to and plenty of room astern, let 
her drag until she is straightened out, then stop, heave in and 
proceed on your way. 

Turning Against Tide 

If at anchor, strong tide running, and you want to turn around, 
heave up anchor and steam over to port or left side of channel. 
Arriving there and stemming the tide, put your helm hard a port 
and full ahead until the bow starts swinging to starboard, then 
stop. The vessel is now controlled by the tide and will turn 
dead athwart the river. When the vessel has run as far as 
prudent, go full astern and shift your helm to hard a starboard. 
This will have a tendency to hold her stern up against the tide, 
and she will come quickly around, more so than if you had gone 
over on the other shore and started to swing her to the left or 
with starboard helm. 



HANDLING A STEAMER 


669 


Going Alongside of Another Vessel 

Suppose you are entering port, and as you pass the flagship 
you receive signals to go alongside the U. S. S.im¬ 

mediately. Conditions are as follows: a strong spring flood 

tide, wind light, sea smooth. The U. S. S.is two miles 

further up the river and wants you to come alongside his port 
side and is ready for you. Notify the First Officer and Chief 
Engineer of your instructions to go alongside, “ Our starboard 
side to their port side.” The First Officer will have all hands take 
stations. See that anchors are ready for letting go, lines up and 
neatly coiled ready for use both fore and aft, steam on capstan 
engine, and winches turned over, fenders in position over the 
side. Be sure and have a large fender placed at the break of 
forecastle and well down on your starboard side as in all prob¬ 
ability this location will be where you fetch up. Have a 5-inch 
manila line, of about 120 fathoms, ready as a running line. 
Lead this out through your forward chock to the foreshrouds, 
have a heaving line bent on. Have fenders ready for immediate 
use, heaving lines up and in charge of those who are to use them. 
Be certain that everything is ready. 



Proceed as follows: Try to keep in the center of river and 
endeavor to get most of the headway off the vessel and still 
have her manageable. Continue up river passing the U. S. S. 

. on her starboard side, distance of about 500 ft. (1). 

When your bow is abreast of her bow stop your engine and let 
the tide carry you. By the time your bridge is abreast of her 
stern (if previously traveling very slowly) it will be noted that 
your headway is dead. Remember you are still traveling over 
the ground at a fair speed with the tide. Assuming that the 
river is clear ahead or that you have at least 3 or 4 ship lengths 
of clear water, put your helm hard aport (2), give a kick ahead 
full speed. When she starts to swing, go full astern, let go your 
starboard anchor and stop your engine (3). Veer chain gradually 
to 8 or 10 fathoms (in 6 fathoms of water. At this stage it is 








670 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


not your intention to give her enough chain to hold the ship, but 
just enough to break her around so as to head the tide. The 
greatest strain will occur when your ship is at right angles to 
the tide (4) and diminishes as your angle is reduced. 

Having swung almost head to tide and when the tide is about 
2 or 3 points on your starboard bow (5) (ship still swinging) you 
may veer chain and gradually bring her up. This may require 
between 60 and 70 fathoms of chain. If you feel that giving her 
that amount of chain may result in bringing you too close to some 
object astern of you, or the tide may be very strong and the 
strain on anchor engine and chain too great, go ahead on your 
engine. Assuming your ship has stopped and you have swung 
ahead to tide, put your helm amidship and start to heave up. 
Use your engine to take strain off capstan and steer your ship 
so as to follow the lead of your anchor chain. Get anchor away, 

and up. Head up for the stern of U. S. S. When 

within 200 feet of his stern, port your helm and bring his flag 
in line with your bridge (6). Then straighten her up and run 
parallel, keeping about 30 feet off, and watch your port helm. 
Do not let the tide catch you on your port how and carry you in. 

Having run your distance put helm astarboard and go full 
astern; this stops you and casts the bow to starboard. Get 
bow and stern lines out; then forward and after springs. No 
definite rule can be given for the handling of lines as it depends 
greatly upon the manner of approach and speed. 

Leaving Ship’s Side 

Upon leaving the ship’s side I 
find it the most satisfactory to let 
go all lines other than bow line, 
stern line and forward spring, slack 
bow line gently until ship brings up 
on spring. Hold bow line, and 
stern will gradually swing off. 
When off far enough take in stern 
line. Helm is amidship. When 
all clear aft, go slow ahead. Let 
go bow line, and as ship comes 
ahead haul aboard the spring. 

Be careful not to get spring in propellers. 

On Heaving Lines 

As a rule there are few seamen who can handle a heaving line 
with any degree of perfection. As a successful landing, under 
adverse conditions, often depends upon getting a heaving line 
on board, it is only natural that some instruction should be given 



Leaving ship's side. 











HANDLING A STEAMER 


671 


to those who are to use them. Take a few coils of 15 or 18 
thread manila and cut into 16 to 19 fathom lengths, and limber it 
up so that it is quite pliable. At one end seize a small canvas 
bag large enough to hold about a pound and a half of sand. 
(Write the ship’s name on a piece of canvas, place this in the 
sand when sewing up the bag—when disputes arise over the 
ownership of heaving lines, rip open bag and claim your own.) 

Set aside a half hour each day for practice in heaving. Create 
some rivalry, have a heaving line match once a week granting 
some inducement for perfection. With a few weeks of this 
practice we found that we could cut our heaving lines into 
twenty-five fathom lengths. Some men prefer a heavier sand 
bag with the longer length of line. 

Single Screw Vessels 

Commander Keen has shown very clearly what may be ex¬ 
pected in the handling of a single screw, right-handed propeller, 
vessel of average tonnage under various conditions. 

The action of a vessel with right-handed screw under a 
variety of circumstances is best illustrated by reference to the 
following table adapted from Applied Naval Architecture by 
W. J. Lovett. 

Of course a left-handed screw will give opposite results under 
similar conditions. 

But no matter how a screw will work in theory, the only safe 
guide is the study of the particular vessel under consideration. 

The most unsatisfactory conditions may arise when a vessel is 
compelled to back due to wind or current and the lessened effect 
of the rudder. In going astern a vessel will give a tendency to 
back up into the wind, regardless of the helm even in a slight 
breeze. 

Careful study of the above table and a comparison with the 
actual conditions found upon your ship will result in valuable 
data. 

Know what the vessel will do under certain conditions, then 
he careful not to try and make her do something else . Handling 
a ship, or a woman, the same rules seem to apply. 

Study of the rules set down will help toward gaining an under¬ 
standing of the action of vessels, but too much stress cannot be 
given to the fact that all vessels differ and each one must be 
mastered by actual practice. 


24 


672 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Propeller going asfern 
Ship going ahead 

slow 


Propeller going ahead 
fast** - 


Asfern 


slow - 


Change of Direcfion of Ship’s Head Indicated t —/ Etc. 


Speed and Direction of Ship and 
Screw Indicated by Arrows 








> £-»— 



Remarks 


Resultant 
Direction of 
Vessels Head 


Vessel going ahead 
screw suddenly reversed 


As above but with rudder put to port 


As / but with rudder put to starb'd. 


1 


As 2 but vessel now has slowed down 
under the action of the reversed screw 




As 3 but vessel still stowing down 
under the action of the reversed screw 


As 2 but vessel now has begun to go 
astern under the action of reversed screw 




As 3 but vessel still going astern 
underthe action of the reversed screw 


< 


As 2 but vessel has now attained 
good speed astern 


1 


As 3 but vessel has now attained 
good speed astern 


10 


Propeller now put ahead reducing 
as tern speed ship 


< 


As 10 but rudder put to port 


12 


As 10 but rudder put to starb’d 


J 


Maneuvering table , single screw right-handed. 

















































HANDLING A STEAMER 


673 


VII 

Twin Screw Vessels 

A twin or triple screw vessel has many advantages over the 
single screw in the matter of maneuvering. Going astern the 
screws, turning in opposite directions, have less effect in deaden¬ 
ing the steering power of the rudder. 

Twin screws may be placed in two ways. The starboard 
screw may be right handed and the port screw left handed. 
Then the upper blades turn away from each other. 

Or, the right and left-handed screws may be shifted and we 
have the upper blades turning toward each other. 

The first method of fitting twin screws is the most common. 
It is the best arrangement for maneuvering, seeming to give more 
effect to the rudder than when the screws are inboard turning. 

The turning effect of the blades of a screw in the lower half 
of the circle of their rotation is through denser water and the 
blade meets with greater resistance. This resistance is trans¬ 
ferred to the end of the shaft and, in turn, to the hull itself. It is 
for this reason that a right-handed screw, turning backward, 
throws the ship’s stern to port, and head to starboard. 

In a twin screw vessel when going ahead, the ship will pivot 
rapidly when the outboard screw on the turning circle goes full 
ahead and the inboard screw is stopped, or reversed. The 
greater the distance between the shafts the more pronounced 
the turning effect. 

The action of twin screws in turning is so simple that not much 
thought is needed to understand the effects due to different 
combinations of their action with the rudder and the forward or 
sternward motion of the vessel. 

Steering. The steering of a vessel by twin screws has been 
accomplished on a number of occasions and is managed by con¬ 
trolling the revolutions of the engines. 

Steering by rudder on a twin screw vessel is often effected 
by the rolling of the vessel. First one screw is low and shoves 
with more power, then the other is in the low position and gets in 
an extra push. This combined with the natural yawing of the 
ship will often cause her to steer badly. The writer remembers 
the very marked effect of the rolling of the old St. Louis , her 


674 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


screws kicking her from one side to another, making it very 
difficult with a quartering sea to steer a course within two or 
three degrees on each side. 

Backing. In backing the effect of the rudder is less than when 
going ahead but ample turning power rests in a manipulation of 
the relative speed of the screws, or in stopping one and going 
astern on the other. 

Turning from a stop. Here it is necessary to work the vessel 
around with her screws, backing on one and going ahead on the 
other. As the backing screw is less effective than the going 
ahead screw, it is well to turn over the ahead screw at a slower 
speed. Also, the effect of wind, trim, tide, and depth of wa¬ 
ter must be considered when performing this maneuver. In 
making such a turn with the screws the rudder should be held 
amidship. 

Turning, going ahead. The helm is used as with a single 
screw vessel, while the screw, on the inside of the turn, is stopped 
or reversed. 

Stopping. Twin screws are much more effective in stopping 
than single screws. A full-powered vessel should stop, twin 
screws going full speed astern, in about six to seven lengths. 

In this connection it may be of interest to note that a vessel 
660 feet long, 23,500 tons displacement, 35,000 I.H.P., with 
maximum speed of 23.5 knots will require seventeen and a half 
minutes to go from dead stop to full speed and will travel a 
distance of approximately 35,400 feet while working up to top 
speed. Reversing her engines she will come to a stop from full 
speed in a fraction over four minutes and will travel approx¬ 
imately 4,300 feet, or six and a half times her length. 

Roughly a vessel can be stopped from full speed, with engines 
reversed, in one fourth of the time it takes to work her up to 
full speed. 

The average results also show that she will run over six times 
her length unless a heavy head wind or sea knock down her 
speed. 

Triple screw vessels handle like twin screws. 

Quadruple screw vessels handle like twin screws. 

Turbine vessels having multiple screws are fitted with special 
backing turbines on the maneuvering screws. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


675 


Cavitation is caused by a propeller revolving so fast that the 
head of water pressure cannot supply solid water for it to work 
in and the blades cut across the suction column of the propeller 
instead of working in it. This produces heavy vibrations and 
consumes additional power without effective thrust. 

A somewhat similar condition prevails when a propeller re¬ 
volves in still water, that is the vessel is so deeply laden, or 
burdened by a tow, that the propeller spins around without a 
corresponding forward movement into solid water. This is often 
seen on tug boats, it is called “ dispersal of the thrust column ” 
and of course results in vibration and loss of efficiency. 

Many steamers shift berth, and in fact some make con¬ 
siderable passages with the propeller two thirds submerged. 
This effects their handling to a considerable extent. Usu¬ 
ally tramp steamers of moderate tonnage are sent out in this 
condition. 

Horse Power 

Before leaving this question of maneuvering it may be well 
to say a word about horsepower. To the average man there 
seem to be as many kinds of horsepower as there are breeds of 
this almost extinct domestic animal. 

The following short definitions may help to clear up the 
matter. 

A horsepower, by the way, is 33,000 foot-pounds of work per¬ 
formed per minute. That is, 33,000 pounds lifted one foot in a 
minute. Or 550 pounds one foot in a second. Or one pound 
33,000 feet in a minute, and all proportions in between. 

Indicated Horsepower is the power developed in the cylinders 
of an engine. It is measured by an indicator device, the pressure 
during the stroke being traced on a card. This calculation 
neglects all losses arising from friction in the machinery. 

Shaft Horsepower is the brake horsepower measured on the 
shaft. It is the actual amount of twist given the shaft in units 
of foot-pounds and time. 

Effective Horsepower is the actual power expended in moving 
the hull through the water. It is the tow-rope power, the final 
power applied after all losses in engine and shaft and slip of 
propeller. 


676 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Notes on Docking 

No rule can be given as to the number of hawsers to be used 
in coming alongside. A moderate-sized vessel should have at 
least five lines at each end ranging from seven inch to ten inch. 
The largest vessels use twelve-inch manila handling hawsers. 

Wire hawsers may be used at times but as a rule are not put 
out until the vessel is to be tied up. 

When the end of one line is on a bollard a second one can 
readily be placed so that either line may be let go first. Take the 
eye of the second line up through the eye of the first and over the 
head of the bollard. If you have never seen this done just figure 
it out for yourself. 

Where possible pass the eye of the Working lines out through 
the chocks and up on the rail. Bend on heaving lines and have 
all ready for use. Most men bend the heaving line on the eye. 
It is better to bend it on just inside of the splice so the line can be 
lifted over a post and the heaving line unbent without trouble. 

A vessel coming into a berth alongside of a dock or wharf will 
always try to get her bow line ashore first. It is well to also get 
a stern line out by passing the heaving line forward. If a long 
ship, bend two heaving lines together. This is safer than to put a 
long stern line out—this might fall overboard and drift aft into 
the propeller. 

Docking telegraphs and docking bridges keep the Second 
Mate, stationed aft, in touch with the bridge. On a small ves¬ 
sel he should take a station where he can see the bridge at 
all times. 

Entering a vessel in a dock slip bow first is comparatively 
simple. Getting a vessel alongside of a dock with wind or tide 
holding her off, lead forward and after springs aft, go slow ahead 
on engines for a few turns; this will cause her to come in side¬ 
ways. Shorten in on bow and stern lines and get out breasts to 
hold her close. 

To back into a slip is often a more serious job, depending 
upon conditions. Take advantage of all forces rather than to 
work against them. Get stern line out and up the slip and to 
after capstan or warping winch as soon as possible. It is often 
possible to first put a vessel alongside of the bulkhead, stern 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


677 


pointing across the slip, and to wind her around the corner of the 
dock by means of a strong spring leading forward, engines slow 
astern, and by heaving in on the stern line. Be certain to have a 
bow line out and a check spring leading forward. Never kick the 
engines too hard astern. The rudder, in this maneuver, is prac¬ 
tically useless. It is assumed that no tugs are available. 

Off shore breasts are often of great use when the vessel is 
going into a slip where they can be used. 

Where there is no great amount of tide and wind, there is 
very little need of doing more than just having the slightest way 
on the vessel. Drift her into her berth slowly. Have cork or 
basket fenders handy. 

In cold weather when lines refuse to hold on the drum of a 
capstan a little sand will help them grip. When a line rides down 
on the barrel, slack or surge it to bring it up. If there is a heavy 
pull on the line use great care in surging. Work the turns 
around by hand a little at a time. Many lines are parted by 
starting the loose turns too far and then holding them suddenly 
when the hawser surges. Always keep clear of a hawser working 
under heavy stress; many a leg has been broken by neglecting 
this precaution. Always have an able seaman tending hawsers 
under stress. 

In making fast lines have the bight slightly more taut than 
the standing part where an. end and a bight lead to a dock 
bollard. 

Parcel all lines with strips of old canvas where they work over 
the edges of docks, etc. Marl this down with spun yarn. 

Camels are heavy fender floats usually consisting of four 
squared logs bolted together. 

Spur shores are heavy spars resting against the side of a 
vessel, the ends usually fitted into wooden saucers. The ends 
are held up by one or more lanyards made fast to the deck or rail. 
The shore end of spur shores are usually fitted with rollers to 
accommodate the shore end to different stages of the tide. Two 
breast tackles lead from the heel of the spur shore to the string 
piece of the wharf. These are used to haul the shore hard 
against the side of the vessel. Two or more are usually em¬ 
ployed when a vessel is to lie so that she will have room for coal 
or other lighters between her and the wharf 


678 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Dolphins are clusters of mooring piles driven in mooring basins 
and used for the purpose of tying up vessels. Lines of dolphins 
are found to be very convenient in congested basins. They 
admit of easy and stationary mooring. Oil pipe lines are some¬ 
times led out to dolphins and vessels taking aboard fuel oil can 
do so in this manner. 

In docking and handling ship two requisites should never be 
neglected. All officers should be provided with whistles, all 
sailors should carry sharp knives. 

Tending lines alongside of a dock is most important. Where 
the range of tide is considerable this is necessary. The safety 
of the vessel may depend upon the faithful performance of this 
duty. 

Where a vessel discharges or loads rapidly this duty should 
be constantly in mind. When taking in bunker coal under 
chutes, watch the lines. Where the vessel has to be shifted to 
aid in trimming under the chutes, special springs should be fitted 
and led to deck winches. Always watch the gangway while 
shifting and have some on watch, especially at night. 

The “ KEEP CLEAR OF PROPELLERS ” signs should always 
be put out on a twin screw vessel. Where lighters are liable to 
be knocking about near the quarter at night have these signs 
fitted with a deck portable light hung over them. 

Rat guards should always be put out where required. Some¬ 
times this is of great importance where the shore is infested with 
the pests, or local quarantine regulations demand it. 

VIII 

Towing 

In deep sea towing operations with a ship’s own gear these 
important points are to be observed. 

First the line to be used. This must be amply strong to 
withstand sudden jerks when the towing vessel and the vessel in 
tow bring upon the cable suddenly through the motion of the sea 
and the momentum of one of the vessels as against the lack of 
movement of the other. It must be understood that these 
stresses are liable to be excessive—more than any taut chain 
or wire, or fiber rope can stand. The art of towing successfully 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


679 


depends upon a careful regard for this and in adopting every 
means at hand to overcome, or to lessen, the sudden stresses due 
to the heavy forces involved. 

The chain cable makes an ideal towline because of its weight 
and because of the degree of control over its length by the wind¬ 
lass of the vessel in tow. Where the windlass is in good order 
and the vessel to be towed can unshackle one anchor (after first 
getting it on board), the towing craft can haul on board this chain 
and secure it with suitable lashings. 

A chain cable hanging between two objects forms a curve 
known to mathematicians as a catenary. On a long tow this 
curve will sag or flatten, depending upon the distance between 
the ends, and as this distance is dependent upon the pull at the 
ends of the heavy chain we have an ideal method of equalizing 
sudden stresses between the two vessels. 

Towing by chain cable presents certain difficulties to the 
towing vessel. Getting the chain slung over the counter of the 
towing ship is not so easy. Towing by a bridle is desirable 
making certain that the connection of the bridle to the chain cable 
will not part. To make this connection leave the anchor shackle 
on the end of the cable and pass as many turns of new flexible 
wide as possible forming a large towing eye pass the parts of the 
bridle through this eye. The bridle should be long to prevent 
excessive stress due to the angle of pull. The bridle referred 
to here is on the towing vessel. 

The towing eye and bridle should be held at the center of the 
span by means of two bights, one from each quarter. When 
dropping the tow these are cast off and then the span itself is 
let go. All stanchions and other obstructions must be removed, 
and care must be taken to avoid short nips and chafe. The ends 
of the bridle should lead as far forward as possible, generally to 
the quarter bitts, and after a turn around these to the bitts next 
forward. 

Leading a towing line through a central chock on the taffrail 
may make steering difficult. 

Where a vessel is to be towed by wire cable, or manilahawser, 
a shot or two of chain cable in the middle of the tow lines adds 
the necessary sag to give spring to the line. This is specially so 
with wire hawsers. 


680 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The length of tow lines should be regulated by the conditions 
prevailing. By slacking out or hauling in the length of sea 
running may be taken advantage of and both vessel will find 
themselves retarded or accelerated at the same time in that way 
saving stress upon the tow line. 

In a general way, of course, the longer the line the easier the 
tow, but the limit to this is evident when actually handling a tow. 

Sometimes it is necessary to tow a vessel without using her 
bower chain. It may be desirable to keep both anchors ready for 
letting go. 

In this case pass a new flexible wire through both chain pipes, 
lowering the anchors (stockless) to do this. Pass as many 
turns as possible without interfering with the run of the chains. 
Frap the turns outside of the hawse pipes, form a long bridle, 
bring this up on the forecastle head and shackle or bend the 
towing line into this. Then drop over forward and secure the 
anchors with a stout tackle fitted on each side with a slip toggle 
or with a strong manila strap that can be cut away when they 
have to be lowered. The anchor shackles can be snug against 
the hawse pipes and the tackles, leading up and aft, will prevent 
swaying of the anchors. 

The above observations are only general. Special conditions 
impose different methods. In matters of this kind the seaman 
proves his skill by adapting the most simple and secure measures 
with the means he has at hand. 

Mr. Spencer Miller, Chief Engineer of the Lidgerwood Com¬ 
pany, has prepared the following valuable data on towing and the 
use and utility of the Miller-Lidgerwood Automatic Tension 
Engine. These notes are given here through the courtesy of the 
above company. 

The Automatic Tension Engine for Deep Sea Towing 

Deep sea towing, even with many types of steam towing 
machines, is towing by jerks. The hawser stresses vary 500 
to 600 per cent. Hawsers must be of enormous strength to 
withstand the maximum stresses incident to towing by jerks, 
and of great length to minimize the jerking. 

The Automatic Tension Engine maintains a uniform tension or 
stress in the hawser (within ten per cent) and light short hawsers 
are used. The ships can be towed within 800 to 1000 feet even 
in a heavy seaway. This gives to a towed barge the practical 
equivalent of a propeller of its own. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


681 


In this steam towing apparatus the stress in the towing hawser 
is maintained practically uniform. The towing hawser cannot 
be over-strained whatever be the sea conditions. 

The 13" x 13" engine will require a 1" diameter steel hawser 
through which it will transmit a constant stress of 18,000 pounds 
to the towed ship. It need not exceed 1000 feet in length. 



The automatic tension engine . 

Under no possible combination of sea, weather and towing 
speed can the hawser stress exceed 18,000 pounds. 

Any jerk exceeding 18,000 pounds will instantly lower the 
steam pressure and cause the engine to pay out hawser. Surges 
on hawsers seldom last over 3 seconds, and are followed by a 
slackening of hawser. The instant the hawser stress falls (to 
about 17,000 pounds) the steam pressure is raised and the 
hawser wound upon the drum until the stress is again (about) 
18,000 pounds. 

The hawser stress can be reduced at will by a turn of the regu¬ 
lating hand wheel. In practice the attendant adjusts the working 
stress to harmonize with the towing speed. If too much hawser 
is being wound upon the drum the hand wheel is turned one way 
to reduce the towing stress, and conversely, if the drum is seen 
to be losing hawser, the wheel is turned in the other way to 
increase the stress. If the towing ship slackens its speed the 
attendant reduces the hawser stress. Any man of the grade 
of oiler can be taught to operate the Automatic Tension Engine 
in a few moments. 



682 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


What a Pull of 18,000 Pounds Has Done and Will Do 
With an 18,000 pound hawser stress, the U. S. Battleship 
Wyoming (26,000 tons) was towed at 4% knots with a 1" (dia.) 
steel hawser, using the automatic tension engine. 

With an 18,000 pound hawser stress, the U. S. E)estroyer 
O'Brien (1,174 tons) was towed 9% knots with a 1" (dia.) steel 
hawser, using the automatic tension engine. 



An 18,000 pound hawser stress is enough to tow: 


S. S. Colon . . ,. 5,667 gross tons. 6 l / 2 knots 

S. S. Panama . 5,667 gross tons.7 knots 

S. S. Allianca . 4,000 gross tons.7% knots 

V. S. S. Maumee . . . 14,500 tons (without propeller). . 8 knots 

Oil Barge Navahoe. . 7,718 gross tons.6 knots 


Manila vs. Wire Hawser 

It is well known that manila hawsers are far superior to steel 
wire hawsers in the point of elasticity. Steel wire hawsers are 
cheaper for same strength, they last longer, are lighter, less 
bulky, easier to handle—all factors of importance on shipboard. 
Nevertheless, largely because of the greater elasticity, manila 
hawsers hold their own in well-earned popularity. Elasticity 
is recognized as a factor of prime importance. 

For deep sea towing of large vessels long steel wire hawsers 
are practicable only in connection with means to overcome their 
deficiency in elsticity. 














































































HANDLING A STEAMER 


683 


Use of Anchor Chain 

Frequently steamship captains couple steel hawsers to the 
anchor chains of the towed ship. This greatly increases the 
sag or dip, and supplies a substitute for the elasticity of a manila 
hawser. 

This is objected to as greatly increasing the resistance to 
towing and the wearing of the links. Anchor chains should not 
be used except in an emergency—such as a big ocean liner 
towing a disabled vessel. Success in towing at present then 
depends almost entirely upon the exercise of good judgment 
and careful seamanship. 



U. S. S. Tennessee (i later U. S. S. Memphis ) Towing U. S. S. Preble. 


Towing line 180 ft. — l 1 / g" anchor chain . wt. 2450 lbs. 

780 ft. — 10" circ. manila rope . wt. 2540 lbs. 

960 ft. wt. 4990 lbs. 


Hawser stress, 18,000 lbs.—Normal sag, 35 ft. 

Towing line failed at 10 knots. 

Experiments in towing. In 1908 certain towing experiments 
were made in the Pacific from San Francisco to San Diego, the 
sea was smooth one-half the time and a moderate following sea 
the other half. Three cruisers towed three destroyers of 592 
tons full load, one of these was the Perry . 

130 fathoms of 10" manila hawser were used, shackled to 30 
fathoms of anchor chain. These tow lines failed at 10 knot 
speed. Elements estimated to possess an ultimate strength of 
50,000 lbs. broke. 

The report says, “ chain should not be used at all.” “ The 
great weight of chain carries the hawser way down in the water, 
and increases the resistance.” 

The accepted plan for towing gear for battleships employs 
anchor chains coupled to wire hawsers. This plan (wholly 
justified because of military reasons) undoubtedly provides an 
increased range of elastic extension in the hawser. It is fre¬ 
quently used, sometimes failing which indicates that it does not 
furnish an adequate range of elastic extension. Even used in 
connection with manila hawsers, whose elasticity is perhaps ten 
times that of wire, it has repeatedly failed in practice. In fact, 
whenever it has succeeded superior seamanship was exercised 
in handling the towing ship, the speed of towing very low, or else 
sea and weather conditions were favorable. 










684 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Conventional Steam Towing Machine 



S. S. Iroquois 

Towing the Barge Navahoe, 2700 Foot Tow Line. 
Length of Hawser 2700 Feet. 

Hawser 

Span, 

Sag or 

Stress Lbs. 

Air Line 

Dip 

10,000 

2380ft. 

514ft. 

30,000 

2650 ft. 

205ft. 

50,000 

2660 ft. 

124ft. 

80,000 

2670 ft. 

78ft. 


The conventional steam towing machine as a contribution to 
the art of deep sea towing is well illustrated by the Standard Oil 
Tanker Iroquois regularly towing the Standard Oil Barge 
Navahoe and indicates that there remains much to be desired. 

The Iroquois has a gross tonnage of 9201 tons, 2500 indicated 
horsepower, and a maximum speed (alone) of 12.79 knots. 
The Barge Navahoe has a gross tonnage of 7718 tons and is 
equipped with sail power. 

Both the Iroquois and Navahoe have commercial steam towing 
machines, near the stern of the former and the bow of the 
latter. Towing is done with two parallel 7" (circ.) steel wire 
hawsers of (about) 342,000 lbs. ultimate strength. 

These towing machines have two 18" x 20" steam cylinders 
and a winding drum to hold 500 fathoms (3000 feet) of 
(diameter) or 7" (circ.) steel hawser. This hawser weighs about 
13 tons alone. Each towing machine weighs about 27 tons. 

In rough water these hawsers are paid out to 450 fathoms 
(2700 ft.) and the speed of towing is only 5 to 6 knots. 

To tow the Barge Navahoe 6 knots in smooth seas, should not 
require stress in both hawsers of more than 18,000 lbs., that is 
to say, 9000 lbs. stress per hawser, but this assumes that the 
hawser itself was not dragging through the water. 

Calculating the sag or dip of each 7" (circ.) hawser at 10,000 
lbs. stress shows the hawser sagging down below the water 300 
to 500 feet. The sag of these two hawsers produces an increased 
resistance to towing estimated at 12,000 pounds which is wholly 
wasted. Such a sag or dip could not be thought of along the 
Grand Banks of Newfoundland nor along most of our own 
coasts. It cannot be accepted as a solution of the problem of 
deep sea towing. 






HANDLING A STEAMER 


685 


With 10,000 lbs. stress in hawser and 342,000 lbs. ultimate 
strength, we have a factor of safety of 34, indicating that the 
hawser gets some serious overstrains even though two steam 
towing machines are used. 


GOO' 



Towing a Barge with the Automatic Tension Engine. 


The Theory of the Conventional Steam Towing Machine. 
There is a great deal of misconception respecting the conven¬ 
tional steam towing machine; one is that it maintains a uniform 
tension in the hawser, paying out rope under an increased stress 
and winding it in under diminished stresses. Nothing is further 
from the truth, for according to the statements of the manu¬ 
facturers the variation in stress may be 500 per cent or even 
600 per cent. 

In the usual steam towing machines, the operations follow in 
rapid sequence, as follows: 

A heavy wave strikes the towed barge (steam pressure 10 to 
20 lbs. on the towing machine). An extra stress is produced in 
the hawser. This overhauls the towing engine and its drum; 
this in turn by suitable mechanical connection opens the steam 
valve. This is followed by a great increase in the flow and 
pressure of the steam in the cylinders (up to 125 lbs. at times) 
which greatly increases the hawser stress. The purpose and 
intent of the design is to build up the stream pressure (and 
consequently the hawser stress) to prevent paying out too much 
hawser. 

The theory of the automatic tension engine is that the ship 
cannot be restrained by the hawser to an appreciable degree, 
hence it is more practicable to give it the hawser it demands 
and not permit the hawser stress to increase. This and this 
alone permits the use of small short towing hawsers. 

An examination of indicator cards taken by Mr. Wilkie, Chief 
Engineer of the Iroquois and printed in Mr. Kemble’s paper 
(Naval Architects & Marine Engineers, June 1909), shows that 
the steam pressure in the cylinders of the towing machines 
varied from a minimum of 10 lbs. to a maximum of 125 lbs.— 
quite sufficient to show that with the conventional steam towing 
machine the hawser stress varies all of 600 per cent. This is 
towing by jerks. 

Big Hawsers 

The usual steam towing machine demands a hawser of the 
same weight, same strength, and practically the same length as 




686 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


before. The hawser that towed the U. S. S . Maumee (14,500 
tons) eight knots was 2 l / 4 " in diameter, its ultimate strength was 
342,000 lbs. The normal stress to tow the U. S. S. Maumee 
eight knots would be about 18,000 lbs. The ultimate strength 
of this hawser is 19 times as great as the normal stress. All of 
this excess strength is supplied to absorb the extraordinary 
shocks on the hawser. This hawser is calculated to receive a 
stress of 85,000 lbs. at times—a factor of safety of 4. Such a 
hawser used with ships towing at 850 feet apart would weigh 
6800 pounds and have a normal sag of 40 feet when towing 
18,000 lbs. Frequently the distance between ships is increased 
sufficient to drag the hawser on the shallow bottoms of much of 
the waters along our coast. This explains why many hawsers 
give out near the middle of their length. 

A light hawser l l / 4 " in diameter with an automatic tension 
engine under the same conditions would sag only 12 feet and in 
the case of the U. S. S. Prometheus and U. S. S. Maumee would 
be wholly out of the water at all times. It would never slacken 
enough to strike the water, because the automatic tension engine 
has an available speed of take-up exceeding the speed with 
which hawser may slacken. 

It has been said that the hawser on the commercial steam 
towing machine does not fail at the drum, but at some other 
point. This may be accounted for in three ways: 

1. Dragging on bottom 

2. Chafing on rollers and chocks 

3. Bending on small drums 

The rope winding on the drum, and paying off from the drum, 
is alternately bent (bending stress about 20 tons) and straight¬ 
ened, this rapidly weakening the wires of the hawser. When a 
surge comes on the hawser, the steam towing machine starts to 
pay out (under reduced steam) easily, the stress being perhaps 
20,000 lbs. The steam pressure builds up rapidly, after some 
of the hawser has been paid out, to the strain of perhaps 100,000 
lbs. It is, therefore, clear that the part of the hawser, partly 
destroyed by the bending, is off the drum at the time the max- 
mum stress occurs. This is one fact, but we have another 
serious difficulty incidental to big heavy hawsers sliding on 
chocks, rails, guards, etc. It is the great weight of the big 
hawsers that is responsible for the serious chafing and accounts 
for a large part of the wear. Bending and chafing cause the 
destruction—and that part of the rope off the drum is chafed 
worse than the part that is on, and hence is the first to give 
way. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


687 


Towing with the Automatic Tension Engine 



U. S. S. Cyclops Towing U. S. S. Wyoming—Using Automatic Tension Engine 
Towing line—400 ft. — 3" circ. wire rope — wt., 2520 lbs. 

Hawser stress — 18,000 lbs.—normal sag—2 ft. 

Towing speed — 4 x /$ knots. 

The automatic tension engine on the U. S. Collier Cyclops 
towed the battleship Wyoming (26,000 tons) at a speed of 
knots, using only 100 fathoms of 1" diameter steel hawser. 
The calculated tow line pull for this speed is 9,000 pounds plus 
the resistance due to the drag of the propellers. The hawser 
stress was never greater than 18,000 lbs. 

September 9th, 1915, the turbine propelled destroyer O'Brien 
1174 tons (full load), was towed 91/2 knots by the U. S. Collier 
Cyclops using the same automatic tension engine and a 1" 
diameter wire rope. The test lasted four hours, tension in line 
17,000 to 18,000 pounds. 



U. S. S. Cyclops Towing U. S. S. O'Brien—Using Automatic Tension Engine. 
Towing line, 400 ft. — 3" circ. wire rope — wt., 2520 lbs. 

Hawser stress, 18,000 lbs—normal sag, 2ft. 

Towing speed, 9 1 /2 knots. 


This might be contrasted with the failure in towing of the 
Perry (one half of the weight of the O'Brien ) practically at the 
same speed, using 130 fathoms of 10" manila hawser, coupled 
with 30 fathoms of anchor chain. 

Again the U. S. S. Vermont , 16,000 tons, was towed by the 
U. S. S. Delaware using 300 fathoms of 2" diameter steel hawser 
and 45 fathoms of chain, 3% to 5 knots; contrast this with the 
U. S. S. Wyoming , 26,000 tons, towed by the Cyclops 4 y 3 knots 
using less than 100 fathoms of 1" diameters steel hawser and 
the automatic tension engine. 

If the Cyclops , with its present equipment, was at sea with a 
disabled ship of the size of the Vermont , the Cyclops could 
easily tow it to safety at a speed of 5 to 6 knots. The hawser 
could be short for the required range of elastic extension resides 





















688 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


in the engine. As the automatic tension engine pays out hawser 
for every stress exceeding 18,000 pounds and takes it up with 
less than (say) 17,000 lbs., there would be no possibility of the 
hawser parting. 

The stress in hawser is practically constant. It pulls every 
instant—whether pitching, ’scending or rising. 



U. S. S. Delaware Towing U. S. S. Vermont. 


Towing line 270 ft.—2%" anchor chain . wt. 14230 lbs. 

1800 ft. — 6" circ. wire rope . wt. 10500 lbs. 

2070 ft. 24730 lbs. 


Hawser stress—18,000 lbs—normal sag—200 ft. 

Towing speed—5 knots (Maximum). 

Neither the automatic tension engine nor its 1" diameter steel- 
hawser ( 0 . 3 " rope) has ever failed in any sea. It is jerk-proof. 

Taking a Vessel in Tow 

The circumstances under which a vessel may take another in 
tow are so various that no definite rules can be laid down. The 
rule that the vessel to do the towing take the initiative, her 
Master giving orders to the vessel to be towed, seems sound. 
Still, even here it may at times be necessary for the other Master 
to assume charge. 

Before attempting to take another vessel in tow be certain 
that both Masters understand what is to be done and prepare 
for the operation before actually attempting to put a line across 
and connect by chain cable or otherwise. 

Where both vessels are fitted with radio the plan of procedure 
can easily be agreed upon. 

To get a line across, either use the Lyle gun, or drift a buoy 
down on the helpless vessel if the other craft can get to the 
weather side. Of course under moderate weather conditions a 
boat would be put overboard and communication made in that 
way. 

A strong manila hawser should be put across after both 
vessels are ready with their bridles or other towing'gear, and 
know just what is to be done. 



















HANDLING A STEAMER 


689 


When the tow line is finally across and all is ready, the general 
opinion is that the vessel to do the towing should point four or 
five points away from the tow and bring the stress on the line 
straightening out the two vessels and starting the tow. This 
brings the tow line into action without giving it a direct load at 
once, the pull being expended in turning the tow and starting her 
through the water at the same time. 

Stowage of Wire Lines 

Wire towing and handling lines are generally kept on reels. 
Experience has demonstrated the danger of kinks and the un¬ 
satisfactory stiffness of wire when handling by hand. When 
not on reels the wire should be ranged along the deck, prefer¬ 
ably fore and aft, in long clear fakes. Have chain stoppers 
fitted at the bitts where the wire is to belay. 

Coiling of Manila Hawsers 

The point to be remembered here is the quite general abuse 
of manila hawsers. Long lengths of hawser are coiled down 
close to the chocks or pipes through which it is to be payed out. 
Often the hawser is flemished down , that is, coiled flat and 
close together. A second tier of the same rope may be flem¬ 
ished on top of the bottom coil, riding between the lower rings 
of the coil. The close coil may often be necessary and the 
flemish coil looks nice, but when a hawser is payed out from a 
coil of this kind the end should be free. When the end is made 
fast, as to a tug, for instance, the line will either be filled with 
extra turns, as it goes out, or it will loosen up. In this connec¬ 
tion it must be remembered that in taking turns out of the line, 
extra twist is put into the strands. Both conditions cause kinks, 
and do damage to the rope. Remember —Kinks Kill Ropes. 

Manila hawsers should be carried on upright reels, where pos¬ 
sible, these being fitted with canvas covers. This keeps the lines 
handy, prevents turns, and protects them from damp and dust. 

When getting ready to pay out a hawser, coil down in large 
figure-of-eight coil, or if necessary, fake down, lapping the coils 
to avoid fouling. Pass out the hawser on a heaving line which 
will allow the end to revolve and take out the turns. 

The figure-of-eight coil allows the hawser to run out without 
turns. 

Casting Off A Tow 

Where this is done without compulsion, the vessel towing 
slows down and as both vessels lose way the cable or hawser is 
rounded or hove in on the vessel being towed and when the two 
craft are reasonably close (do not get dangerously close), the 


690 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


line is cast off. Care should be taken not to cast off a long tow- 
line that may foul the propeller. A manila line may easily drift 
into the screw even though it is not turning over. 

Abandoning a Tow 

There is a well-recognized rule which warrants the master 
of a vessel in abandoning a tow, but it is a prime requisite that 
the peril must be extreme and that there must be sound reason 
for belief that to hold fast to the tow would only cause the loss 
of both. Above this is the ethical law that human resource and 
ingenuity shall first have been invoked to the utmost to transfer 
the crew of the abandoned vessel. 

Wire Towing Hawsers 

The American Bureau of Shipping has set the following re¬ 
quirements for the strength of towing and warping hawsers 
made of wire. These required wires are often referred to as 
the insurance lines. 


Circum¬ 
ference of 
Steel Wire 
Rope 

Breaking 
Test in Lbs. 

Circum¬ 
ference of 
Steel Wire 
Rope 

Breaking 
Test in Lbs. 

Circum¬ 
ference of 
Steel Wire 
Rope 

Breaking 
Test in Lbs. 

Circum¬ 
ference of 
Steel Wire 
Rope 

Breaking 
Test in Lbs. 

1 " 

6,000 

2 %" 

29,500 

4V 2 " 

96,100 

63/ 4 " 

216,400 

i y 4 " 

10,000 

2 %" 

32,700 

43/4" 

107,000 

7" 

232,700 

iy 2 " 

14,500 

27/8" 

39,200 

5" 

118,720 

71 / 4 " 

249,800 

1 %" 

15,600 

3" 

42,700 

51 / 4 " 

131,000 

7i/ 2 " 

267,200 

i 7 / 8 " 

17,800 

31 / 4 " 

50,100 

sy 2 " 

143,600 

7 3 /4" 

285,300 

2 " 

18,800 

31 / 2 " 

58,200 

53 / 4 " 

157,000 

8 " 

303,900 

2 %" 

21,200 

33/ 4 " 

66,700 

6 " 

170,900 

8 V 4 " 

327,000 

2 i/ 4 " 

24,000 

4" 

76,100 

6 V 4 " 

185,500 

8 V 2 " 

347,200 

23/s" 

26,700 

41 / 4 " 

85,700 


200,700 

83/ 4 " 

367,300 


The use of special flexible steel wire rope will be approved pro¬ 
vided it is of not less strength than the ordinary steel wire rope. 


Towing Regulations 

Towing of barges has become an increasingly important 
method of transportation and certain rules are set down for the 
regulation of this business. Under some conditions these long 
tows are a danger as well as a nuisance. Tows in inland waters 
are limited to four vessels including the tug or towing vessel. 
This of course also limits deep sea towing as the tow must 
traverse inland waters first. The regulations follow. 

1 . Tows of seagoing barges navigating the inland waters of the 
United States are limited in length to four vessels, including the 
towing vessel or vessels. 














HANDLING A STEAMER 


691 


2 . Hawsers are limited in length to 75 fathoms, measured from 
the stern of one vessel to the bow of the following vessel; and 
should in all cases be as much shorter as the weather or sea will 
permit. 

3. In cases where the prescribed length of hawser is, in the 
opinion of the master of the towing vessel, dangerous on account 
of the state of weather or sea, hawsers need not be shortened to 
that length until reaching the localities named below: 

(a) Tows bound for Hampton Roads or beyond, before passing 
Thimble Light. 

( b ) Tows bound up the Chesapeake, to the northward of 
Baltimore Light. 

(c) Tows bound up the Delaware, between Fourteen Foot 
Bank and Cross Ledge lighthouses. 

Hawsers may also be lengthened in the same places, under the 
same circumstances, when tows are bound out. 

4 . In case of necessity, on account of wind or weather, hawsers 
of vessels navigating between Race Rock and Gay Head may 
be lengthened out in the discretion of the master of the towing 
vessel; but this paragraph shall not apply to Narragansett Bay 
north of Beavertail Light. 

5. In all cases where tows can be bunched it should be done. 

(a) Tows navigating in the North and East Rivers of New 
York must be bunched above a line drawn between the Statue 
of Liberty and the entrance to Erie Basin. When tows are 
entering Long Island Sound from the westward, the lines may 
be lengthened out to the prescribed length after passing Fort 
Schuyler; and when bound for New York from Long Island 
Sound tows must be bunched before passing Whitestone Point. 

( b ) Tows must be bunched above the mouth of the Schuylkill 
River, Pa. 

6 . Section 15 of the act approved May 28, 1908, provides: 

That the master of the towing vessel shall be liable to the suspension or 
revocation of his license for any willful violation of regulations issued pursuant 
to section 14 in the manner now prescribed for incompetency, misconduct, or 
unskillfulness. 

7. Any violation of these regulations shall be reported in 
writing as soon as practicable to the Board of Local Inspectors of 
Steam Vessels most convenient to the officer or other person who 
may witness the violation. 


The use of oil when towing is illustrated under the subject of 
Handling a Steamer in Heavy Weather.* 

* In order to get an equipment rating from the American Bureau of Shipping 
vessels must carry towline ranging from ninety fathoms inlength for a 
thousand-ton vessel (equipment tonnage), 150 fathoms in length for a 7, 
ton vessel and over. The size and kind of towline is also specified. From 


692 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Running Short of Bunker Fuel 

The subject of towing brings to mind that nightmare of bad 
luck, or poor management, known to steamer-sailors as fuel 
fever. The author recalls a passage from Hilo toward Coronel, 
later on directed toward Callao, when the S. S. American , 
bucking head winds and current, and with grass trailing from 
her bottom, struggled toward the South American shore. She 
arrived at the Peruvian port with swept bunkers. In this in¬ 
stance good seamanship, and judgment, overcame adverse condi¬ 
tions. Had she held a day longer on the route to Coronel she 
never would have fetched Callao by burning coal. 

Captain E. L. Yates writes as follows in the Oracle of the 
Oriental Navigation Co.— 

“ Most men will, at some time in their experience, have been 
up against the gruelling anxiety of fuel shortage. Before the 
war, if a shipmaster or chief engineer arrived at a home port 
with more than two or three days’ fuel left in his bunkers, he 
was either keel-hauled or sacked by his owners for having 
bought too much expensive fuel abroad in comparison with the 
prices ruling for same at the home ports. As a consequence of 
the fears of losing their berth through this cause, many chances 
were taken which would otherwise be avoided if a little more 
latitude were allowed them. 

“A famous passage or run where fuel fever has dragged the 
sweat out of the bodies of masters and chief engineers is that 
from Cape Verde Islands to Grand Canary. The distance is 
only a matter of 850 miles, but vessels on a voyage from the 
River Plate to Europe usually go carefully into the question of 
bunkers on board the day previous to passing Cape Verde, and if 
the quantity remaining is too bare to make the 850 miles, they 
usually put into St. Vincent, Cape Verde, for an extra day’s fuel. 

“These islands lie in the direct track of the North-East Trade 
winds, and often enough the winds have appeared comparatively 
moderate when the vessel is in the vicinity of St. Vincent and 
many a man has figured on such conditions continuing as far as 
Grand Canary, but probably after clearing north of the Cape 
Verde you run into a half gale of head winds and heavy sea with 
the ship bobbing three times in the same hole, and many a ship 

1,000 to 10,300 tons the sizes run as follows: Hemp (manila) from 10 inch to 
17 inch and from 90 fathoms to 140 fathoms. Wire 3*4 inch to 6 V 2 inch. The 
vessel may be equipped with either one. From 11,200 tons to 26,500 tons 
the hawser must be of steel wire running from 6 V 2 inch to 8 % inch and in 
length from 140 fathoms to 150 fathoms. 

Sailing craft are required to have similar towing lines. The largest sailing 
craft, about 5,000 equipment tons will carry a towline 120 fathoms long and 
either of 13 V 2 inch manila or 41/2 inch steel wire. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


693 


has done one third of the distance against these conditions and 
found he has just enough fuel left to run back. If he runs back 
he gets the sack and if he foolishly tries to push on, hoping for 
better weather ahead, he runs out of fuel short of his coaling 
port and is towed in by one of the fortunates who have plenty 
of fuel and are always hoping for a salvage tow with its conse¬ 
quent prize awards.” 

Captain Lecky in Wrinkles in Practical Navigation (pages 
675-6) gives several examples on the relation between coal 
consumption, speed, and distance. 

The courts have held a vessel unseaworthy which did not 
bunker 25 per cent more fuel than her anticipated requirements 

IX 

Coaling at Sea 

Under certain conditions it may be necessary to transfer coal 
from one vessel to another while under way at sea. The fol¬ 
lowing illustrations supplied through the courtesy of the Lidger- 
wood Company serve to make clear the general method of 
procedure. 

The Marine 
Cableway 

This apparatus, 
the first marine 
cableway, was in¬ 
stalled on the U. S. 

Collier Marcellus, 
and tested during 
the fall of 1899 , de¬ 
livering coal to U. S. 

S. Massachusetts. 

It was designed 
to transfer from col¬ 
lier to warship (300 
feet between ships) 

15 tons of coal per 
hour in moderate 
sea and weather. It 
actually transferred 
over 22 tons per 
hour, in a sea heav- 



Collier Marcellus rising on a sea. 





694 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


ier than moderate, 
with 400 feet be¬ 
tween ships. 

In the rough sea 
test with the ships 
head-on to the sea, 
the forecastle of the 
Massachusetts be¬ 
ing washed at every 
plunge, a little over 
20 tons were han¬ 
dled in an hour. 
When the course 
was changed, quar¬ 
tering on the sea, 
the results were the 
same. With the 
ships steered in the 
trough of the sea 
the rolling did not 
affect the working. 
The towing speed was five to six knots, load, 840 pounds; con¬ 
veyor speed, 1200 feet per minute; actual capacity, 22 tons per 
hour. 

The first picture shows the Collier Marcellus rising on a 
sea. The second one shows her plunging. Note the equal ten¬ 
sion on towline and cableway under both conditions. 

The Cyclops—South Carolina Trials 

This test was made on April 12,1913. The contract called for a 
delivery of 480 tons of coal in a period of eight hours. The 
mechanism was operated for six hours under most unfavorable 
conditions of weather and was pronounced a success. The 
maximum amount of fuel transferred within an hour was 83 tons. 
The test was conducted for four hours, or long enough to con¬ 
vince the naval board that the system would answer all the 
purposes of the service. The transfer of coal from the Cyclops 
to the South Carolina at sea in a driving rain with the collier 
rolling 20 degrees was preceded by a dock trial. 



Collier Marcellus plunging. 







HANDLING A STEAMER 


695 


Under this improved system of coaling at sea all of the gear is 
installed on the collier. 

It will be noted that in this trial the collier had the battleship 
in tow, or at least with a nominal tension on the towing cable. 



The plant includes an automatic tension engine, which main¬ 
tains a tension on the main cable sufficient for carrying the load 
from ship to ship. There are two conveying engines for hauling 
the load, and even the mast necessary to erect on the coal¬ 
receiving ship is carried, when not in use, on board the collier. 

The regular winches and regular gear of the battleship are 
used to lower the bags to the battleship’s deck, making it possible 
for a collier to tie up to any battleship and coal. The fuel is 






696 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


delivered at the rate of five or six bags, carrying 700 to 800 
pounds on each trip, or a total delivery of 3,500 or 4,000 pounds. 
The rate of delivery is from 50 to 60 seconds in a distance of 500 
feet between the collier and the battleship, which in the recent 
test were steaming at the rate of from 7 to 8 knots. 

More coal was transferred than ever before, and justified the 
opinion, freely expressed by naval observers who witnessed the 
test, that the cableway as easily capable of a delivery of 100 tons 
per hour. It was also observed that the best record was in the 
last hour of the test, which showed that the machine did not have 
a fatiguing effect upon the men. 

In the test, the tension of the engine was 17,000 to 18,000 
pounds and never showed the slightest disposition to slacken 
nor unduly tauten the main cable. 

On the warship end a “ let-down system ” is employed. The 
warship end of the main cable is attached to a bridle, the ends 
of which bridle are attached to the deck of the battleship, well 
aft. A block and fall raises the end of the main cable, as well 
as the joining point of the bridle. By this means the carriage 
and cable are raised and lowered at the warship end. 

X 

Bunkering Fuel Oil at Sea 

In bunkering fuel oil to a battleship at sea the battleship is 
taken in tow by the fuel ship. A short “ A ” frame is mounted 
near the bow of the battleship, guyed back and well secured. 
One end of a supporting cable for the oil hose is anchored to 
this “ A ” frame. The other end of the supporting cable is 
wound on the drum of the tension engine on the fuel ship. It is 
desirable to carry the supporting sheave for this cable on the 
fuel ship well forward, and consequently quite high. The oil 
hose is then passed across from the fuel ship, being supported 
from the cable by hangers properly spaced. The supporting 
cable being well above the deck of the fuel ship a clear lead for 
the oil hose can readily be obtained to the oil pump. The last 
supporting hanger will be about over the bow of the battleship, 
the oil hose dropping from there to the deck, and running to the 
bunker coupling. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


697 


A steel supporting cable of 1" diameter, at a tension of about 
18,000 lbs. will support above the sea a 5" hose, with the ships a 
distance of 400 feet apart. While the automatic tension engine 
is used to pay out and take in the hose supporting cable, its most 
important function is to maintain a uniform tension in this sup¬ 
porting cable, and prevent any lashing of the hose in moderate 
or rough seas. 

In any seaway sufficient to cause pitching of the vessels the 
distance between them continually increases and decreases. If 
both ends of the supporting cable were fixed or if the conven¬ 



ts S. Collier Cyclops Transferring Fuel Oil to Battleship in Tow. 


tional steam towing machine were used this action of the ships 
would produce repeated variations in the tension of the sup¬ 
porting cable, which would in turn cause corresponding changes 
in the deflection. The result would be a continual lashing up 
and down of the oil hose, greatly impeding the flow of oil, re¬ 
ducing the hourly capacity, with a strong probability of parting 
both the hose and the supporting cable. 

The automatic tension engine absolutely prevents any vari¬ 
ations of the tension in the supporting cable, and consequently 
keeps the deflection constant and eliminates the lashing of the 
oil hose. The engine is adjusted to maintain uniformly what- 





698 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


ever tension is necessary in the supporting cable. If the pitching 
of the ships increases the distance between them the tension 
engine automatically pays out more supporting cable, if the 
distance decreases, it auto¬ 
matically takes in cable, no 
change of tension is permitted 
in the cable, and therefore 
there is no variation in the 
deflection, and no lashing of 
the oil hose. 

The illustrations show a 
test made of this apparatus 
between the U. S. S. Wyom¬ 
ing and the U. S. Collier 
Cyclops at sea, August 26th, 

1915. The hose was passed 
from ship to ship along the 
supporting cable, coupled up, 
and oil was flowing in eight 
minutes. At no time did the 
hose touch the intervening 
water. 

To sum up its uses the 
automatic tension engine is 
the essential element in the 
marine cableway for 

Coaling Warships in a Seaway, whether installed on battle¬ 
ships or colliers. 

The automatic tension engine is useful as a heavy boat hoisting 
machine. It will hoist boats without the shocks commonly 
incident to the use of the ordinary hoisting machine. 

Supporting an Oil Hose between two ships fuel bunkering at 
sea. The desirability in a heavy sea of this engine to maintain a 
uniform tension in the hose supporting line, to prevent the hose 
from lashing up and down in a seaway, will be readily appreciated. 

Life Saving at Sea. The addition of the automatic tension 
engine to a ship carrying the ordinary breeches buoy apparatus 
enables passengers to be rescued from wrecks in seas far too 
heavy to permit the use of life boats. 



Receiving Oil Hose on Board 
Battleship. 





HANDLING A STEAMER 


699 


Towing at Sea. The automatic tension engine is ideal for 
towing. See section on towing. Pages 680 to 688. 

Salvage Work. The difficulty of raising sunken ships when 
the sea is rough is well recognized. The ability to compensate 
for the motion of the salvage ship in a heavy sea by automatically 
controlling the tension in the lines attached to the sunken vessel 
gives to the automatic tension engine special usefulness. 

Handling Guns and Supplies. The automatic tension engine 
on a ship can maintain a line in suspension between the ship and 
shores to which vessel cannot approach closely, and where boat 
landings are difficult. Guns, ammunition and supplies can be 
landed by a trolley carriage running over this line. 

Warping Ship. The automatic tension engine used as a 
warping winch absolutely regulates and controls the tension in 
the warping lines. The danger of parting the lines is reduced 
and far smaller lines can be used. 

Commander H. C. Dinger, U.S.N., in a valuable paper printed 
in the Proceedings of the U. S. Naval Institute of September, 
1919, advocates fueling at sea by towing abreast rather than 
astern. 

We quote from this paper as follows: 

“It is a comparatively easy operation to take a vessel in 
tow and maintain her position a steady almost exact position 
—well clear of the side. With a vessel maintained in this 
position, coal can be transferred by bags from boom ends, or 
by means of movable pipes from fuel vessels fitted with coaling 

towers. . i 

“ As far as is known, the first actual oiling of vessels at sea in 
rough weather was done by the U. S. S. Maumee in May, 1917, 
when a division of destroyers was oiled on the way across the 
Atlantic. 

“ The gear used was as follows: 

“ A 10-inch manila line was led from the bow of the fuel vessel, 
taken outboard and stopped along the rail; a 2-inch messenger 
was bent on the end. Two 6-inch breast lines were provided 
with heaving lines. Two 3-inch lines of oil hose were connected 
to the oil line, and were supported on a wooden carrier suspended 
from boom end, the line supporting this carrier being led to a 

winch, and tended by winch man. , . . 

“ The manner of coming alongside, taking lines, etc., is indi¬ 
cated in the instructions prepared for the occasion, quoted as 
follows: 


700 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Prepared on U. S. S. Maumee for Guidance of Destroyers Oiling at Sea 

“ 1. Gear. All supplied by fuel ship. 

“ 10-Inch Bow Spring. This line is led from the bow of the fuel ship and 
stopped along the rail; a 2-inch messenger is bent on about 50 feet from 
end and stopped along to end. This line should be taken in on destroyer 
bow through bitts just forward of bridge. Take messenger to capstan and 
assist handling by hand; cut stops as they come to bitts. Take turn around 
base of gun mount as indicated on sketch and secure end to bitts on opposite 
side. Be sure that hawser is secure around base so that it will not ride up 
on mount. As soon as end is secured notify fuel ship, which will then heave 
in to place destroyer in proper position. Put lashings around and over bitts 
to prevent hawser jumping. 

“ 2. Breast Lines, 6-Inch. Forward, take in through bitts forward of 
forward gun, then to bitts forward of capstan. Do not secure to capstan 
as it may be damaged. This line must be securely fastened as a very heavy 
strain may come on it. 

“ 3. After Line. Take through bitts in wake of deck house, secure, and 
stand by to tend. 

« 4. Hose. The hose, two lines, are led together through a wooden carrier 
supported from boom. Near end of hose, there is a wooden yoke to which 
is attached a handling line. The hose should be handled on board destroyer 
with this line, not with end of hose. Rail should be broken down and clear 
where hose is taken on board. Get ends of hose and hose yoke on destroyer, 
secure yoke and then put ends of hose in tanks. Pumping will start as soon 
as destroyer reports ready. 

“ 5. Handling of Destroyer. Come along on parallel course, speed about 
8 knots, distance about 50 feet from fuel ship; slow down to keep abreast 
fuel ship, ease in or out as necessary, but do not drop aft too far and get 
under counter. When 10-inch spring is fast, drop down on it slightly and 
let fuel vessel take in on breast lines till desired position is reached, about 
40 feet from side, then maintain about 4 knots, just keeping slight or occa¬ 
sional strain on 10-inch spring. Destroyer will then ride to 10-inch spring 
and forward breast. Do not head out suddenly as this will break away the 
forward breast. Speed up if necessary to take strain off 10-inch spring and 
keep from swinging in too close. 

“ The breast lines keep the destroyer in and prevent hose being carried 
away. Destroyers can come abreast and make connections in moderate sea 
without danger if precautions mentioned are adhered to. The principal 
danger is coming too close and throwing stern in. There is a suction under 
counter and destroyer should keep out of this. A speed of about 5 knots is 
maintained by fuel ship. This is necessary in order to steady fuel vessel and 
enable her to steer a straight course. The fuel vessel must steer a straight 
course; rolling is not objectionable, but yawing is,—hence sea should be 
abeam or slightly forward of beam. 

“ 6. Before coming alongside destroyer should have her forecastle clear, 
rail clear for hose, have lashings ready, capstan ready and men instructed 
where the lines are to be led. Lines must be very securely fastened. 

“ In smooth weather one destroyer can be taken on each side, and in calm, 
destroyers can make fast and receive oil as in port. 

“ The first time that this was tried was in a moderate sea, as 
the attached photograph will indicate. The destroyers were each 
oiled in about two hours, and oil was delivered at from 30,000 to 
40,000 gallons an hour. In some cases destroyers were con¬ 
nected up and oil being pumped on board in 15 minutes from the 
time the destroyer passed the stern of fuel vessel, this being done 
with a vessel that had never previously gone through the oper- 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


701 


ation. With practice, a destroyer could no doubt connect up 
in 10 minutes. 

“ In rough sea the fuel vessel makes a lea, taking sea a little 
forward of beam. In smooth weather a destroyer can be taken 
on each side while steaming 8 to 10 knots, one vessel connecting 
up while the other is having oil delivered. When towing abreast, 
both vessels are entirely and instantly under full control of their 
engines and helm. Lines can be cast adrift without danger of 
fouling screws. The whole operation can be viewed by the 
captain from the bridge of each vessel, and the two vessels are 
in direct verbal communication all of the time that they are close 
to each other. In towing astern or from the quarter, this is not 
the case, and unless the officer in control of either vessel can 
see fully what the other is doing, difficulties are likely to be 
presented. 

“ With fuel vessels thus arranged as mentioned above, a fleet 
can maintain the sea indefinitely. Fueling cannot be attempted 
in very rough weather, but a fairly smooth sea can usually be 
found in the course of several days, except in specially tem¬ 
pestuous waters. 

“ The method employed with destroyers can be used for 
much larger vessels, though perhaps it could not be done in as 
rough a sea.” 

XI 

Handling a Steamer or Motor Vessel in Heavy Weather 

A vessel with power presents no special difficulty in heavy 
weather unless cargo has shifted, or she is loaded too deep, or is 
unseaworthy because of other defects. 

The usual precautions should be taken on the approach of 
heavy weather. Look after all hatch covers, ventilator openings, 
lashings, boats, and loose gear. On the approach of extra heavy 
weather, stays and shrouds should be examined and booms 
securely lashed to their beds. If cargo gear is rove off, either 
send it down or lash it securely to the masts. 

See that oil tanks are working and that they are filled. Have 
oil bags ready on the bridge with a supply of oil for immediate use. 

See that steering gear is in order, that relieving gear, if fitted, 
is ready to be thrown in. 

See that anchors are secure, and that all openings to chain 
locker are water tight. 

Sound all tanks and bilges. Know the condition of trim of 
the vessel. Avoid half empty or swash tanks. 


702 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


If just leaving port make certain that no loose skids, or spars 
are about the decks. The well decks will fill up and such heavy 
gear, washing about, may be very dangerous. Rig life lines. 

Awnings, if bent, should be unbent, or at lease secured by 
extra gasgets. Sails, if bent should be fitted with preventer 
gear and securely furled, but ready for use if needed. 

See that all ports are securely closed, in the forecastle and 
poop as well as in the deck cabins. 

Where heavy steel doors are fitted to the forward and after 
ends of the superstructure have these closed and securely 
fastened. 

Have fiddley tarpaulins ready and batten down in the event of 
extra heavy weather. 

A water spout breaking over the ship might flood the engine 
and fire rooms. 

Most of these precautions pertain to extra heavy weather, 
to typhoons in the China and Indian Seas, or to hurricanes off 
the West Indies. 

Even a vessel of second rate ability, if properly handled, will 
ride through the worst weather that is liable to come along. Do 
not be afraid to take precautions. 

Heaving To 

The method of procedure during extra heavy weather, when a 
vessel cannot make way against the wind and sea without 
shipping dangerous quantities of water, admits of two general 
divisions. 

Heaving to, head toward the sea and steaming slowly against 
the storm, or at least making way enough to keep steerage on the 
vessel. 

Heaving to with the quarter toward the wind and slowly moving 
away from the storm. 

Very often the method of heaving to must be determined by 
the position of the vessel with regard to the storm center. She 
will then be headed with the wind on the bow or quarter so as to 
soonest avoid contact with the center.* 

Other conditions may prevail. It may be necessary to head 
in a certain direction, regardless of storm center or the easy 
riding of the vessel. A course may have to be made to avoid 
dangerous shoals or the land. 

*See Chapter 20—Weather at Sea. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


703 


Some vessels will lie best with the wind on the bow, others 
seem to make better weather of it with the wind on the quarter. 
Short vessels as a rule take more kindly to a heavy sea. They 
dip and roll with the sea but ship less water than long craft that 
cut into the crests or sink into them depending upon how they 
are riding. 

In most long vessels the favorable position for extra heavy 
weather is found by bringing the sea aft and stopping engines, 
or only turning them over slowly, and by streaming oil in the 
wake. Backing the engines slowly has also been tried with 
success. 

Engines Disabled. Sea Anchors 

A vessel slowly steaming before a storm may maintain her 
position when engines are disabled by the drag of the propellers, 
and if need be by putting a sea anchor over the stern. A storm 
staysail rigged on the foremast serves as an extra precaution 
against broaching to. 



25 


















704 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


With head to the sea, the usual practice is to improvise a drag 
or sea anchor. Formerly an iron ring and canvas cone was 
carried but this rig is no longer required. A sea anchor can 
easily be constructed by any experienced seaman. Spare cargo 
booms, a few lengths of stream chain and a spare storm staysail, 
or a stout tarpaulin, folded and stopped across in the form of a 



riangle. The sail of course is best. The illustration shows 
this rig and the method of attaching the tow rope and the bridle. 
Some seamen fit a tripping line to the anchor, but this is unneces¬ 
sary. When the weather moderates enough to make it desirable 
to take in the anchor, and the engines are working again, steam 
up to the anchor and hoist it on board by a tackle to a forward 
cargo boom. 

A sea anchor specially constructed for a ten thousand ton 
steamer consisted of a cone of No. 00 canvas laced to a steel 
ring of 1-inch rod iron, 18 feet in diameter. The cone was 25 
feet deep and fitted with a stout eye and tripping line at its 
point. A chain bridle was shackeled into eyes in the ring. 
This had four legs. 

Oil should be distributed from a point well forward on the 
tow rope of a sea anchor as shown in the drawings to follow. 




HANDLING A STEAMER 


705 


Rigging a Jury Rudder 

Every now and then the seaman has to rig a jury rudder and 
by “ the seaman ” we mean engineers and all. The old paddle 
arrangement, such as the rudder rigged a number of years ago 
on the S. «S. Ramsdal (1,535 gross tons), Capt. O. A. Hirsch, 
worked very well for a small craft. With the big ten thousand 
tonner, and over, a more substantial rig is needed. With drills 
and cutting tools available and steel booms, a very substantial 
jury rudder can usually be devised. The sketch is an imaginary 
rig shown for the purpose of guiding the seaman in making a 
rough design should his rudder let go in mid-ocean. At least 
he should make every effort to provide a strong and workable rig. 

A—is a steel cargo boom cut 
to the required length. (Con¬ 
sult the blue prints for dimen¬ 
sions.) B—cargo hatch covers, 
or metal doors. C—length 
of boom, or other stout metal 
fitting, such as a strongback. 

D—upper bearings made to 
size by improvising pipe or 
other large round fittings. 

Bolted through holes cut in 
transom, and reinforced by 
wire lashings—E. F—a lash¬ 
ing, or pendant, to take the 
weight of the rudder. G— 

Heel lashing, of wire rope. 

A figure-of-eight lashing pass¬ 
ed by sending down a man on 
a bowline, and heaving taut 



with a handy billy from the deck, after each turn is passed. H 
steering tackles to deck winches. I—Rudder head lashing to 
reinforce the bolts and bands connecting the tiller C to the rudder 
stock A. 


The work of preparing a jury rudder should be carefully 
planned. To bring a vessel in from mid-ocean under such a 
rig, without paying some other craft a fortune in salvage, would 
just about make the reputation of the Master and Chief Engineer 
who did the trick. 









706 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


XII 

Use of Oil to Calm the Sea * 

Sea Waves. Sometimes there are three or four distinct series 
of waves existing on the sea within the same area at the same 
time, each series having a different direction from the others. 
Frequently the slopes of two or more happen to end at the same 
place and they unite to form a larger wave. 

After the prolonged action of the wind, when the waves rise to a 
considerable height and become sharper and sharper, the 
passage of the air over them with high velocity bends the crests 
forward; the front of each wave becomes steeper than the back, 
and the crest seems to advance faster than the trough until, at 
length, the top of the wave curls over and breaks. 

Large sea waves seem to be the result of a building-up process 
caused by the union of the smaller with the larger waves. If, by 
any reason, there be one wave larger than those around it, its 
size will be continually increased at the expense of the smaller 
ones. For these smaller waves, in passing over the crest of the 
larger, offer increased obstruction to the wind and become dart¬ 
shaped at the top. The force of the wind easily breaks these 
sharp-edged waves into fragments which go to increase the size 
of the larger waves, leaving the small ones yet smaller. So they 
continue to enlarge their dimensions and the depth to which 
they cause disturbance of the water until, with their foaming 
crests and irregular movements, they produce the confusion of a 
stormy sea. 

Objects floating on the surface of such a sea are not carried 
along by the waves, except when they are struck by the loose 
masses of water from the breaking crests. A ship, one moment 
in the hollow of a large wave, is the next riding on its crest, and 
wave after wave rushes under her without driving her out of her 
course. In tidal estuaries, with the waves rolling in from the 
sea against the current of ebb tide, all mariners have often 
noticed floating objects continuing to pass out to sea against the 
inward passage of the waves. 

So that these waves at sea, rushing along with a speed of many 
miles per hour, do not carry the water along with them. In fact 

* Adapted from the bulletins of the U. S. Hydrographic Office. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


707 


the wave is the advancement of a mere form, and the motion of 
the particles of water is very different from the wave motion. 
Imagine a case in which the water has been suddenly heaped up 
by a gust of wind. The weight of the particles of water in the 
heap causes them to push forward the particles in front of them 
to a place farther on and there they come to rest, but the process 
of displacement continues from one to another successive mass 
of water until the displacing force is spent. As the particles of 
water crowd upon one another in going out of their old places 
into the new the crowd forms a temporary heap on the surface 
of the water, and, as each successive mass is displacing the mass 
in front of it, there is always one such heap moving along at the 
place where the displacement is going on, and made up always 
of another and another set of traveling particles. This moving 
crowd constitutes a true wave. The velocity of the wave is the 
velocity with which the heap is seen to move. Its form is the 
form of the heap. Its length is the distance from crest to crest, 
and its height is the distance from the level of the crest to the 
level of the hollow. 

The tendency of the moving air to draw the water along when 
wind blows over the sea is much stronger than casual observa¬ 
tion would suggest. There is no such condition as friction 
between air and water. So great is the adhesion between the 
two, that, when wind blows over water, the lowest layer of air 
remains in contact with the water, and it is to the tendency of 
the upper layers of air to draw this lowest one along that the 
effect of the wind to draw the surface of the water along is mainly 
due. A storm wind will exert a force of 51 grams per square 
meter upon the surface of the sea, and, when we consider that 
the particles in this surface are moving in their orbits, in the 
direction in which the force is exerted, with a velocity of about 
1 meter per second, it will be apparent how powerful an effect the 
wind must have in causing the distortion of the crests of the 
waves. 

To sum up, then, with a view of seeing what should be done to 
calm the violence of waves at sea, it is to be noted, first, that 
capillary waves, whose size and height depend upon the surface 
tension of the water, are the forerunners and upbuilders of 
regular sea waves j and, secondly, that as long as the wave 


708 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


mechanism is not disordered, that is, as long as the particles of 
water are allowed to move in their undisturbed orbits or paths, 
there is no breaking of the waves and vessels ride from hollow 
to crest without shocks and without shipping any water. There¬ 
fore, a substance, in order to be of use in subduing the violence 
of waves, should be capable (1) of spreading rapidly over the 
surface of the sea, (2) of making the tension of the exposed 
surface less than the surface-tension of water by as great an 
amount as possible, and (3) of forming, as a shield to the wave 
mechanism, a continuous surface film, whose particles are dis¬ 
tinct from the particles of water and therefore do not share their 
orbital motion. 

When a film of oil is spread over the surface of the water the 
heaping-up action, which, in the case of the water film, results in 
the formation of ripples, can not take place. 

In the following table of surface tensions, given in grams per 
linear meter at 20° C., the liquids are named in that order which 
corresponds to the quickness with which they spread on the 
surface of a body of water: 


Liquid 

Specific 

Gravity 

Tension of the 
Surface Separat¬ 
ing the Liquid 
from 

Sum 

The Excess of the 
Tension Separat¬ 
ing Air from 
Water over the 
Sum Stated in 
Column 5, or the 
Relative Spread¬ 
ing Force 



Air 

Water 


Soapsuds. 


2.68 

0.00 

2.68 

5.57 

Sperm oil. 


3.39 

.79 

4.18 

4.07 

Oil of turpentine. 

0.887 

3.03 

1.18 

4.21 

4.04 

Rapeseed oil. 


3.35 

1.56 

4.91 

3.34 

Linseed oil. 


3.34 

1.70 

5.04 

3.21 

Benzoin. 


3.12 

1.97 

5.09 

3.16 

Ricinus oil. 


3.83 

1.62 

5.45 

2.80 

Oil of almonds. 


3.52 

2.07 

5.59 

2.66 

Oil of olives. 

.914 

3.76 

2.10 

5.86 

2.39 

Petroleum. 

.798 

3.23 

3.83 

7.06 

1.19 

Water. 

1.000 

8.25 

.00 




Of the substances named, petroleum spreads less rapidly than 
any of the others, its tendency to spread being only about one- 
half that of olive oil, one-third that of linseed oil, one-fourth that 
of sperm oil, and one-fifth that of soapsuds. This explains, in 
large part, why seamen have found it inferior to the other oils, 

























HANDLING A STEAMER 


709 


especially those of animal and vegetable origin, for calming the 
sea. 

According to theory, of all the liquids named, soap water is 
the best agent for preventing the growth of waves, both on ac¬ 
count of its superior spreading power and the reduction of the 
surface tension that it brings about. 

With respect to the oils, the table indicates that oil of turpen¬ 
tine is the best for spreading and reducing the tendency of the 
wind to form waves and increase their size. Moreover, oil 
appears to have a great advantage over soap water, since it 
weighs less than water and does not mix with it. These qualities 
enable it, when spread over the surface of water traversed by 
waves, to maintain itself as a distinct layer whose particles do 
not take up the orbital motion that the particles of water have in 
sea waves. Much of the efficacy of oil is due to the formation of 
this distinct layer with a definite surface cohesion between the 
particles of oil, for, as already pointed out, the wave mechanism 
is then to some extent protected from derangement, since in a 
sea wave the particles of water in the crest are moving forward 
in their orbits, or in the direction in which the wind is blowing 
when they reach the surface, and the tractive effect of the wind 
being brought to bear upon them at this point, causes the break¬ 
ing of the crests and the consequent danger that is experienced 
in a stormy sea. 

Brief Rules for the Use of Oil to Protect Vessels in 
Stormy Waters 

[From the prize essay submitted to the Hamburg 
Nautical Union by Capt. R. Karlowa of the Ham¬ 
burg-American Steamship Company. In the illus¬ 
trative figures, the flowing lines represent the 
spreading oil and the arrows denote the direction 
of the wind and sea.] 

Scudding before a gale, figure A, distrib¬ 
ute oil from the bow by means of oil bags 
or through waste pipes. It will thus spread 
aft and give protection both from quartering 
and following seas. 

If only distributed astern, figure B, there will be no protection 
from the quartering sea. 








710 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Running before a gale, yaw¬ 
ing badly, and threatening to 
broach-to, figures C and D, 
oil should be distributed from 
the bow and from both sides, 
abaft, the beam. 

In figure C, for instance, 
where it is only distributed at 
the bow, the weather quarter 
is left unprotected when the 
ship yaws. 

In figure D, however, with oil bags abaft the beam as well as 
forward, the quarter is pro¬ 
tected. 

Lying-to, figure E, a ves¬ 
sel can be brought closer to 
the wind by using one or 
two oil bags forward, to 
windward. With a high 
beam sea, use oil bags along 
the weather side at inter¬ 
vals of 40 or 50 feet. 

In a heavy cross sea, fig¬ 
ure F, as in the center of a 
hurricane, or after the center has passed, oil bags should be 
hung out at regular intervals along both sides. 

Drifting in the trough of a 
heavy sea, figures H and I, 
use oil from waste pipes for¬ 
ward and bags on weather 
side, as in figure I. 

These answer the purpose 
very much better than one 
bag at weather bow and one 
at lee quarter, although this 
has been tried with some suc¬ 
cess, see figure H. 

Steaming into a heavy head sea, figure G, use oil through 
forward closet pipes. Oil bags would be tossed back on deck. 






















HANDLING A STEAMER 


711 




Lying-to, to tack or wear, figure J use oil from weather bow. 
Cracking on, with high wind abeam and heavy sea, figure K, 
use oil from waste pipes, 
weather bow. I J 

A vessel hove to for a 
pilot, figure L, should dis¬ 
tribute oil from the 
weather side and lee quar¬ 
ter. The pilot boat runs 
up to windward and lowers 
a boat, which pulls down 
to leeward and around 
the vessel's stern. The 
pilot boat runs down to 

leeward, gets out oil bags to windward and on her lee quarter, 

and the boat pulls back 
around her stern, protected 
by the oil. The vessels drift 
to leeward and leave an oil- 
slick to windward between 
the two. 

Towing another vessel in 
a heavy sea, oil is of the 
greatest service, and may 
prevent the hawser from 
breaking. Distribute oil from 
the towing vessel forward and 
on both sides, figure M. If 
only used aft, the tow alone 
gets the benefit. 

At anchor in an open roadstead use oil in bags from jibboom, 
or haul them out ahead of the vessel by means of an endless rope 




rove through a tailblock secured to the anchor chain, figure N. 



























712 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


In addition to the above, there are other cases where oil may 
be used to advantage, such as lowering and hoisting boats, 
riding to a sea anchor, crossing rollers or surf on a bar, and from 
lifeboats and stranded vessels. 




N 


Thick and heavy oils are the best. Mineral oils are not so 
effective as animal or vegetable oils. Raw petroleum has given 
favorable results, but not so good when it is refined. Certain 
oils, like cocoanut oil and some kinds of fish oil, congeal in cold 
weather, and therefore are useless, but may be mixed with 
mineral oils to advantage. 

The simplest method of distributing oil is by means of canvas 
bags about 1 foot long, filled with oakum and oil, pierced with 
holes by means of a coarse sail needle. See page 220. 

The waste pipes forward are also very useful for this purpose. 

The Hydrographic Office will be glad to publish short accounts 
of the use of oil. The reports should always describe the state 
and direction of the seas, speed of the ship, kind of oil, method 
and place of applying the same, amount used, and what effect it 
had. The following reports were made to the H. O. 

Maneuvering before a Storm, and Use of Oil to Calm Seas 

S. S. Monmouth, Captain Birchman—March 12 to 16, from 
latitude 43° 57', longitude 39° 23', to latitude 45° 30', longitude 
20° 28', while running before a heavy westerly gale with squalls 
of hurricane force and high dangerous sea which broke on board 
on both sides, used oil with good effect from four bags, one on 
each side forward and one on each side on lower bridge sus¬ 
pended from spars extending 15 feet from the vessePs side. Oil 
was also used from the closet pipes. 

Schooner John A. Matheson, Captain Matheson—I have fre¬ 
quently used oil to calm the sea when in charge of fishing vessels, 
fishing for cod. Several hogsheads are distributed about the 
deck, into which cod livers are thrown and in heavy weather 
holes are bored in the hogsheads and the oil runs out through 
the scuppers. 





HANDLING A STEAMER 


713 


S. S. Teesbridge, Captain Shaw, from Baltimore, December 
21, 1905, to Hamburg, January 9, 1906—While running before a 
southwest gale, with seas continually breaking over the vessel, 
used fish oil for sixteen hours from the forward waste pipes with 
good results, as no more water came aboard. Used about IV 2 
gallons of oil an hour. 

S. S. Ohio, Captain Oliver, from Rotterdam to Baltimore— 
January 10, 1906, engines stopped, ship hove to, with winds of 
hurricane force from northwest; used oil from forward, amid¬ 
ships, and aft on each side for twenty-four hours to good ad¬ 
vantage, and believe had it not been for the timely use of oil 
seas would have swept the decks. 

S. S. Sloterdyk, Captain Van der Heuvel, from Rotterdam to 
New York—Used oil for three hours with very good results, as 
wherever the oil reached the water was calm and smooth, while 
in the distance the sea was angry and turbulent. Always carry 
oil for use in stormy weather and use an oil made from the residue 
of whales and codfish, which is efficient and cheap. No special 
apparatus is used for distributing the oil, but use the following 
methods: When the ship can be kept head to the sea, a 24-pound 
butter can with oil is placed in the bowl of each forward closet 
and the flushing water kept running freely. If the sea is moder¬ 
ate, one hole is punctured in the can and the oil allowed to drip; 
if the sea increases, two or three holes are made. If the ship 
falls off a couple of points, the oil is distributed from the forward 
bow closets and from a closet amidships. This method is fol¬ 
lowed when the wind is not too strong, otherwise the oil flies 
over the side of the ship and does not reach the water close 
enough to do any good. When the ship’s head continues to fall 
off, headway is stopped and the ship permitted to drift; then 
oil is distributed on both sides forward and amidships, if possible. 

Thomas (United States Army transport), Capt. E. V. Lynam— 
Left Guam April 24, 1905, for Manila; weather threatening. 
April 26, at 3.40 p. m., hove to in the trough of the sea, which was 
very heavy, and ran fish oil from water-closet pipes fore and aft. 
The oil streak spread to windward about 300 yards and no seas 
broke within it, though they did so ahead and astern. Went 
ahead slowly on course at midnight, using oil forward and aft 
on both sides, ship riding easily and taking no water. Hove to 


714 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


again from 8 p. m. 27th to 4 a. m. 28th, and experienced tre¬ 
mendous seas, but only some light spray came aboard. The 
ship rode easily, as before, while hove to and using oil on weather 
side. Very heavy rain made it impossible see how far the oil 
streak extended. [Report by Third Officer H. M. Davie.] 

Tugela (British steamship), Capt. J. Marchbanks, reports as 
follows: April 11, 1905, bound east, in latitude 46° north, longi¬ 
tude 41° west, experienced a fresh northwest gale. Used oil to 
save our deck load. My experience is that with the sea abaft 
the beam it is much better to give a double pressure of oil from 
the forward closet pipe (weather side) and use bags from mid¬ 
ship section of steamer and also one at the break of the poop. 
This method I have found will enable me to run much longer 
and with less danger of a sea breaking aboard. At 4.30 p. m., 
wind and sea increasing, I resolved to heave steamer to. Oil 
was freely used and steamer’s speed reduced, with the result 
that for about one-fourth of a mile around the sea was com¬ 
paratively smooth, and with little difficulty the vessel was 
brought to the wind. The average speed of steamer while 
running was 9 knots. The oil used was a cheap quality of colza 
thinned down with about 30 per cent of kerosene. The bags 
used were ordinary canvas bags made on board, with small holes 
pricked in the bottom. By using this style of bag the flow can 
much more easily be regulated. The amount of oil expended 
while running before the gale was D/i gallons per hour. After 
heaving to I found it better to use only the forward closet pipe, 
as this was quite sufficient to prevent any water from breaking 
aboard, and the expenditure of oil was reduced to about one-half 
gallon per hour. This method was very efficient in smoothing the 
seas and greatly reduced the risk of losing the deck cargo or 
sustaining any other serious damage. 

Invermark (British bark), Captain Bolderston—September, 
1903, to the westward of Tasmania, got a succession of gales with 
high dangerous seas. On the first rise of the barometer wanted 
to put the vessel on the port tack, but was afraid she would be 
damaged, as that would have brought the sea on the port beam. 
Filled oil bags and put them over and wore ship. Although the 
vessel lay in the trough of the sea for eighteen hours she only took 
a little lee water. There was a smooth oily wake for 200 yards 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


715 


to windward, notwithstanding that ahead and astern the sea was 
breaking heavily. Arrived in port without damage and deck 
load of lumber intact. 

American (Dutch steamship), Capt. E. Marktschlaeger— 
March 5, 1905, while bound east, latitude 41°, longitude 56° 54', 
during a northerly gale with very high rolling seas, used storm 
oil through forward waste pipe with good effect. March 7, same, 
during a northwest gale. March 9 to 11, during a gale from 
southwest, west, and northwest, used oil on both bows through 
waste pipes with apparently good results. At 8.30 p. m., the 
11th, latitude 47° 40' north, longitude 21° 15' west, with a whole 
gale and furious high sea, we had to stop on account of a break 
in the engines and used plenty of storm oil to heave to; also 
while lying broadside to the sea, with bags forward, amidships, 
and aft, causing a smooth sea a safe distance from the ship. 
[Report by Chief Officer Sytor.] 

Mildred (schooner), Captain Kindler—While serving on board 
the bark William Ritson , that vessel was caught in a typhoon in 
the Indian Ocean and was on her beam ends for twenty-four 
hours, when by some accident a tin of coal oil got adrift and had a 
hole punched in it, allowing the oil to run out and spread on the 
water. As soon as the bark drifted to leeward of the oil the 
water began to act on the rudder and the vessel came up to the 
wind and righted. After that, used all kinds of oil, but the most 
satisfactory was cod-liver oil, which was used drop by drop. 
The use of oil saved the bark. 

S. S. Sirrah (Dutch), Capt. K. Ru. On Oct. 2, 1920, at 12.01 
a. m., in lat. 56° 10' N., Ion. 22° 45' W., wind NW., force 4, 
barometer 30.07. At 2 a. m. the wind shifted to east, force 0; 
barometer falling steadily. Later the wind shifted to southeast, 
increasing in force, and at noon its force was 7 and the barometer 
read 29.48. Ship’s course, 65°. The clouds, winds, and 
barometer indicated stormy weather. At 2 p. m., steering more 
northerly so as to pass to the northward of the storm center. 
The wind shifted to ESE. with heavy seas; barometer falling; 
steering with full, half, and then slow speed. At 10 p. m., wind 
force 9, barometer 28.89; heavy rough sea. Ship taking much 
water aboard, became unmanageable, and fell in the trough of 
the sea. Stopped the engines and spilled oil on the decks in 


716 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


three places, using 2 gallons in four hours, after which the ship 
lay with the wind and sea three points abaft the starboard beam, 
and but little water came aboard aft. The barometer fell until 
4 a. m. of the 3d. The wind shifted slowly to eastward. We 
drifted until noon, when the wind was east and barometer rising. 
Later the wind shifted to N.E., force 1; barometer still rising. 
Started engines at slow, then half, and finally full speed. The 
storm center passed to southward. “ When you are in a storm 
and can not keep head on to the sea, stop your engines and use 
oil from the weather side and you are safe. You may have a 
little water on the after part, but that is all, as the seas break at a 
distance from the ship and not aboard.” [Report by Chief 
Officer N. de Herta.] 


Crossing Bars 

Crossing a bar with a flood tide, to pour oil overboard and 
allow it to float in ahead of the boat, which would follow with a 
bag towing astern, would appear to be the best plan. As before 
remarked, under these circumstances the effect can not be so 
much trusted. 

On a bar, with the ebb tide running, it would seem to be useless 
to try oil for the purpose of entering. 

Crossing a dangerous bar with a short vessel attempt to ride 
over on the rest of the sea. When a long vessel must cross a 
bar, or is being driven down on a bar, the safest maneuver 
seems to be the following: 

Just before getting to the bar bring the vessel parallel with the 
bar and in the trough of the sea. This can be done with a sea 
anchor over the bow. The sea anchor must be put over board 
in plenty of time. Have an extra long scope of the best towing 
hawser bent to the sea anchor. Put this over and check with a 
short scope. Work the vessel into the trough. As the anchor 
begins to haul the ship’s head up ease off on the tow line. This 
should be just before she rides over. The vessel will roll over 
the bar, keel parallel to the bar. 

When over check the tow lines and bring the vessel’s head to 
the wind. Anchor when safely inside, or, if engines are working, 
proceed to a safe anchorage. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


717 


The maneuver may, of course, be simplified by use of the 
engines to bring the vessel parallel to the bar. 

A sailing craft may execute this maneuver by use of an after 
sail to bring her into the wind, assuming that she is running down 
onto a bar under shortened canvas. 

If the vessel has no way upon her except the drift to leeward, 
toward the bar, she may touch lightly on the outside edge of the 
bar but the next sea will pick her up and lift her over. All of 
this is predicated upon a heavy swell running over the bar, the 
absence of rocks, and favorable wind. And the absolute need 
of going over, or of being driven over. 

Storm Oil 

On and after January 1, 1915, all U. S. merchant vessels of 
more than 200 gross tons propelled by machinery and navigating 
the oceans or gulfs shall carry a supply of oil for the purpose of 
smoothing the sea or quelling the force of the waves in case of 
emergency or necessity in the following quantities: 

Vessels of over 200 and not over 1,000 gross tons, 30 gallons. 

Vessels of over 1,000 and not over 3,000 gross tons, 40 gallons. 

Vessels of over 3,000 and not over 5,000 gross tons, 50 gallons. 

Vessels of over 5,000 gross tons shall carry at least 100 gallons. 

This oil shall be accessible and available at all times, and the 
location of the supply and the means and methods of its distri¬ 
bution shall be determined by the master of the vessel. 

XIII 

Stability 

The question of stability, the power a vessel has of righting 
herself when heeled over from any outside cause, is generally 
considered under the question of stowage. On the other hand 
stability is of vital importance in the many problems arising in 
the handling of craft, in the gradual consumption of fuel and in 
the filling and emptying of ballast tanks. 

A vessel is always acted upon by the resultant of two forces. 
The force of her own weight, that is, gravity , and the flotation 
force of the water she displaces, that is, buoyancy . The two 
forces may conveniently be plotted as acting through two centers. 
The center of gravity and the center of buoyancy . 


718 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


In a submarine the center of gravity will lie below the center 
of buoyancy. In a surface vessel of average build and loading 
the center of buoyancy will lie below the center of gravity. 

The center of gravity is of course the center of the mass of the 
vessel. The center of buoyancy is the center of the submerged 
portion of the vessel. When weights are not shifted to produce 
heeling the center of gravity remains in the same place, but as a 
vessel heels over the shape (not the volume) of her submerged 
section changes, and the center of buoyancy shifts toward the 
side upon which she is lying. 

Gravity acts downward , buoyancy acts upward. 



C.G, Centre of Gravity. C.B, Centre of Buoyancy. M.C, Meta Centre. 

The meta center is a point on the center line of the vessel 
where a line from the center of buoyancy, passing straight up¬ 
ward, cuts this center line. The meta center is located only 
when the vessel heels over to one side or the other by some 
external force. The metacentric height is the distance from 
C.G. to C.M.* 

The righting moment , tending to put the vessel on an even 
keel is the amount of the buoyant force, acting upward times the 
horizontal distance between the vertical lines passing through 
the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. 

The figures show the action of these three centers and explain 
all we need to know about the mysterious meta center. In the 
first figure the vessel lies on an even keel and there is no righting 

* Elaborate inclining experiments are made to determine the position of 
the center of gravity, metacentric height, etc. Usually carried out at wet 
dock in shipyard. See Applied Naval Architecture, by W. J. Lovett. 










HANDLING A STEAMER 


719 


moment. In the second figure she is heeled over to starboard 
(we will assume we are looking forward) and the center of 
buoyancy shifts to starboard of the center of gravity. The two 
forces, gravity and buoyancy, form a couple and the righting 
moment is readily seen. 

In the third figure the vessel has gone over so far that the 
center of buoyancy has passed to port of the center of gravity. 
The meta center has passed down below the center of gravity 
and to port of it, and we no longer have a righting moment, but 
the two forces now act as an upsetting couple and over she goes. 

In loading or ballasting, when the weights are carried very 
low, we have a greater metacentric height for any draft, and a 
very strong righting moment. The vessel is then said to be 
stiff. She comes back from a roll with a sharp upward jerk. 
She is hard to upset, but on the other hand she is liable to be 
very hard on the machinery or spars or cargo. A very stiff ship 
will almost snap the masts out of herself in a heavy sea running 
on her bow or quarter, let alone her beam. 

By carrying the weights up and reducing the extreme righting 
moment we make her more sea kindly. The vessel has an 
easier roll, a more equable motion. On the other hand when the 
weights are too far up and the metacentric height is reduced, she 
becomes tender or sluggish, rolls over and recovers slowly, and 
may be very dangerous in a seaway. Water shipped on the well 
deck may carry her down and a combination of a heavy sea fore 
and aft and a third one breaking over her when she is down 
may shift the cargo or actually carry her beyond her righting 
power and capsize her. This is an extreme case, of course.* 

* Of late years there has developed a tendency to require captains to know 
something of the stability of their ships. In some cases blue prints of curves 
of metacentric heights and other ship’s properties have been furnished cap¬ 
tains. In one case a captain inquired, “ What am I to do with this? ” “ I 

don’t know, but be sure to receipt for it,” was the enlightening reply. 

Recent British books on naval architecture assert that many captains 
understand stability and suggest that a captain, being supplied with the heights 
of the metacenter, should be able to determine the metacentric height. 
Considering that the metacentric height desirable for a large ship is about 
one foot, while the height of the metacenter from the keel is likely to be 25 
or 30 feet, is rather a rigid requirement. There is no question that some 
captains can learn to figure change of location of the center of gravity due to 


720 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The above considerations will show how necessary it is to use 
great care in proportioning weights when loading heavy cargoes 
such as sugar. Here the filling completely of lower holds would 
make a vessel crank. By carrying weights up this is over come, 
but the proportioning must be such that weight is not carried 
too high. 

Seamen who have the loading of a vessel in charge are usually 
men of some experience. Common judgment in the placing of 
weights and the distribution of measurement cargo is all that 
is needed in the modern vessel. Engines, boilers and oil or 
water tanks control stability and trim to a large extent. 

Most trouble arises in light voyages where ballast is not taken 
in sufficient amount for reasons of economy. 

Vessel of good beam and high freeboard are often designed 
with small metacentric height in order to make them less crank. 
Here too, other methods of reducing excessive rolling are gen¬ 
erally employed. 

Rolling 

Rolling, aside from its discomforts (to passengers especially) 
results in bad steering, reduced efficiency of propellers, espe¬ 
cially with twin screws, one screw racing and the other slowed 
as she rolls from side to side. Other losses such as increased 
skin friction, and decreased efficiency of the fires under boilers, 
water swashing in boilers and tanks, and wear and tear on gear 
and damage to cargo and vessel are all directly due to excessive 
rolling. 

Bilge keels are generally fitted, these being shaped to the 
average streamline of the vessel and affording direct outside 
resistance against rolling. They also, of course, add just so 

loading and stowage, and perhaps all ought to; but the exact determination 
of metacentric height is difficult for the naval architect, and an error of half a 
foot might occur in a captain’s computation without much blame to him. 

It is suggested that a more certain and a fairer way is to require the naval 
architect to determine the metacentric heights for all conditions of loading 
and stowage for the ship in ordinary service, and to give this information to 
the captain in the form of directions for loading, taking account of weight and 
bulk of cargo and locations of various kinds to keep within proper require¬ 
ments. In case the captain has any question concerning stability it would 
be better for him to cable information and ask instructions. 

—Marine Engineering. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 721 

much to the resistance of the hull, whether rolling takes place 
or not. 

The use of anti-rolling tanks , notably those of Frahm, have 
also been tried with moderate success. 

The gyro-stabilizer developed by Mr. Elmer A. Sperry has 
proven the most successful wave-quenching device produced up 
to the present time. Here the stabilizing gyro is placed in the 
center line of the vessel and near the midship point of her length. 
Mr. Robert B. Lea, of the Sperry Gyroscope Company describes 
the action as follows: 

“ Many gyroscopical phenomena are the result of the opera¬ 
tion of'Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states that all 
matter is pig-headed by saying 1 a body continues or perseveres 
in a state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line except 
in so far as it may be deflected therefrom by an externally ap¬ 
plied force.’ This law, when applied to a rotating wheel, may 
be expressed by stating that the wheel tends to maintain the 
direction of its plane of rotation, and axis, in space. 



The sketch above shows the stabilizer in relative position and size on a 
large passenger liner. The arrow indicates the reaction of the gyro when 
neutralizing wave effort. 

“ The theory of the ship stabilizer calls into play this char¬ 
acteristic of any rapidly revolving gyroscope or wheel to main¬ 
tain its axis of spin or plane of rotation rigidly in any direction. 








722 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


So persistent and powerful are the inertia forces in this wheel 
that it opposes with great effort any disturbing forces, resisting 
them (up to the limit of its power) with an equal and opposite 
magnitude. In a ship the disturbing forces are the waves. 

“ The revolving gyroscope, being dislodged from its vertical 
plane of rotation by the action of the waves endeavoring to roll 
the ship, immediately opposes and neutralizes this action with 
an equal force by tilting or 1 precessing ’ in the proper direc¬ 
tion, fore or aft, in a plane at right angles to the disturbance. 
Practically all the power to stabilize the vessel comes directly 



from the source of disturbance, the waves. We, therefore, have 
the interesting phenomenon of stabilizing a vessel by the force 
that is actually endeavoring to roll it. The stabilizer really does 
only a smaller amount of work on the vessel than each wave, 
but in an exactly opposite manner, with the net result that the 
effort of the wave is neutralized and the ship does not roll. 

“ This interesting fact means, of course, that with the spinning 
wheel, no greater power (with the exception of the slightly 
increased power for bearing friction) is required to stabilize the 
ship, than to let the wheel run idle. The gyro merely performs 
the function of passing the forces ‘ around the corner that is, 
taking in the forces on one side and passing them out as equal 
but opposing forces at right angles. In opposing the roll of the 
ship, the gyro is oscillated, or, as it is technically known, 4 pre- 
cesses ’ slowly fore and aft (the reaction, of course, being 
athwartship), the speed being governed by suitable control 





































HANDLING A STEAMER 


723 


apparatus, so that the gyro will make just one complete oscilla¬ 
tion while the tendency of the ship to roll persists. 

“ In accomplishing this result we seize hold of the fact that 
the ever-changing period of the waves, acting upon the constant 
period of the vessel first, builds up a large angle of roll and then 
as the waves become out of synchronism, undoes their work by 
opposing and crushing out the roll. Any one wave can impart 
only a very slight roll, the matter of stabilization, therefore, 
becomes more one of proper control than of exerting large neu¬ 
tralizing forces; our problem being merely that of installing a 
small wheel capable of taking care of the few degrees roll (three 
to five degrees) which any one wave can impart to the vessel.” 

Advantages of the gyro stabilizer are summed up as follows.* 
Calculations being made from a model l/26th the size of the 
vessel. Vessel: Length 520 ft., beam 65 ft., draft 16 ft. Dis¬ 
placement 11,000 tons. 

“ It appears that at a speed of 15 knots the effective horse¬ 
power would be increased from 3,000 to 3,300 when the ship is 
rolling through an arc of 25 degrees, and to 3,600 when rolling 
through an arc of 45 degrees, corresponding to an increase in 
effective horsepower of 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. 
It is to be noted that this does not include the loss of power due 
to decrease in propeller efficiency for a twin screw ship, when the 
propellers alternately approach the surface, if not actually 
coming out of the water. 

“ These results confirm experience at sea that loss of speed 
is found to occur when ships are rolling heavily. Under these 
circumstances it appears that the power and weight devoted to 
the means for stabilizing a ship are more than amply repaid by 
the saving effected in the power required to drive her.” 

Much more might be written about this very interesting 
development in modern ship handling. The amount of extra 
water displaced by a heavily rolling ship, the alternate shifting 
of the buoyant forces, and the all tend to added economy when 
eliminated under gyro stabilization. 

In the Sperry gyro-stabilizer the main gyro is controlled by a 
small control or pilot gyro; this feels the beginning of a roll 
instantly and sets the main gyro working in opposition to it at 
once. It is the brains of the mechanism. The pilot gyro closes 

* From a paper by Commander Wm. McEntee, C.C., U.S.N. on comparative 
tests of bilge keels and gyro-stabilizer, read before the American Society of 
Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. 




724 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


a contact to the precession control unit , this releases the brake 
and starts the precession motor geared to a circular rock on the 
gyro case in the proper direction to tilt the main gyro on its 
vertical axis and thereby bring into play the counter force that 
prevents the ship from rolling. A thirty ton gyro wheel was used 
to stabilize the 10,000 ton U. S. S. Henderson. 

Sea Waves 

The period of a wave is the time, in seconds, between the 
passing of successive crests, taken from some stationary point. 
A vessel steaming into a sea will apparently cut down this 
period, or if steaming away from the sea will lengthen it. This 
is known to physicists as Doppler Effect , and has a wide useful¬ 
ness in the vast field of wave-length investigations. It is simply 
mentioned here in passing. 

The period of roll is the time in seconds required for a com¬ 
plete roll from the extreme angle of roll on one side to the 
extreme angle of roll on the other. The double period is the 
time required to roll from extreme starboard (let us say) back 
to extreme starboard. 

For any given condition of stability this period will be the 
same no matter what the angle of roll.* That is, a vessel with a 
seven-second period will require seven seconds to roll ten 
degrees and also seven seconds to roll twenty or thirty degrees. 

But, as the angle of roll increases her 
rapidity of roll increases directly with 
the distance through which she rolls. 
The greater roll, in the same time, car¬ 
ries with it an increase of momentum 
that may make it very dangerous. The 
speed of the roll is greatest at the 
middle of the roll, when the vessel is 
upright. The ship is simply a huge 
floating pendulum. 

To measure the angle of roll, cli¬ 
nometers are fitted at convenient 

* The period of roll is of great importance. Lack of stability may be at 
once determined from its effect on rolling. Knowing the period, under 
normal conditions, any lengthening, and if the rolling becomes sluggish and 
lags at the end of the roll, will indicate lack of stability. 

If tanks cannot be filled to correct this, return to nearest port and shift 
cargo weights lower down. Report by radio, or cable owners at once. 




HANDLING A STEAMER 


725 


points. These usually have indicating arms that are carried 
out on each side by the recording pendulum and show the 
maximum roll. The indicators may be moved to the center of 
the scale by small milled heads located outside of the clino¬ 
meter case. It is very essential that a sensitive clinometer be 
fitted in the engine room to guide the engineers in the filling or 
emptying of boilers, tanks, bunkers, etc. The angle of heel and 
stability is also of importance when loading fast cargoes, or when 
purchasing extra heavy weights with the vessel’s own gear. 

When the period of the waves and the period of rolling are 
synchronous, or nearly so, the waves may add to the rolling at 
each swing until dangerous conditions arise. Of course good 
seamanship would call for measures to put the vessel out of the 
trough of the sea where such rolling would take place. 

The period of roll is less when a vessel is moving through the 
water, the reduction however is slight. 

Large liners may have a period of roll of from ten to twelve 
seconds. 

Pitching is of less importance than rolling so far as it effects 
the safety of the vessel. A light vessel pitching into a heavy 
sea may strain herself. The writer recalls the fore hold stan¬ 
chions buckling under pitching stresses on a vessel going light 
into a heavy head sea. 

Heaving is the vertical motion of a vessel, increasing and 
decreasing her draft. 

The resultant motion of a vessel, due to rolling and pitching, 
and heaving is the combined effect of sea and wind, and her own 
machinery, all acting together upon the whole structure. 

The growth of sea waves is -treated of under calming the 
sea with oil.* The following definitions are of interest here: 

The generally accepted theory of wave formation at sea is the 
trochoidal theory. This defines the form of a sea wave as a 
trochoid, a curve traced by a point inside of a circle rolling along 
on a straight line. The path of a point on a wheel rolling on a 
level road is a trochoid. In the case of a sea wave the circle is 
supposed to roll along on the under side of a straight line. The 
line in this instance is the level of the sea. 


Page 706. 


726 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Every particle of water influenced by the wave has a fixed 
circular orbit, around which it moves with uniform velocity, 
completing the circle in a time equal to the period of the wave.* 

The following is taken from the Manual of Seamanship of the 
British Admiralty: 

“ The size of waves varies in different localities, and with 
different forces and directions of the wind. The longest wave 
recorded is one of 2,600 feet and with a period of 23 seconds. 

“ The longest waves are usually encountered in the South 
Pacific with lengths varying from 600 to 1,000 feet, and periods 
of from 11 to 14 seconds. Waves of from 500 to 600 feet in 
length are occasionally met in the Atlantic, but more commonly 
the lengths are from 160 to 320 feet, with periods of 6 to 8 seconds. 

“ The variation of length with the force and direction of the 
wind is not yet fully understood. 

“ The ratio ^ 61g ^ decreases as the length increases, 
length 

“ For the longest waves the ratio varies from 1/50 to 1/30, and 
for waves 300 to 400 feet long the ratio appears to vary from 
about 1/25 to 1/20. For waves 100 to 200 feet long the ratio 
may vary from 1/10 to 1/20. For small waves such as those 
near the coast line the ratio of height over length may be as 
great as 1/5 to 1/6.” 

The Speed of Waves. A definite idea of the speed with which 
waves may travel is of use to the officer handling a vessel. This 
is specially so when running before the sea in a sailing ship, 
or in a low powered steamer, or auxiliary. 

The speed of large waves may be taken to roughly approximate 
half the speed of the wind that causes them. In a moderate 
sea the speed of the waves often exceeds the speed of the wind. 

In long stretches of sea as the route from the Cape of Good 
Hope to Australia, waves traveling at the express speed of thirty 
knots are not uncommon. This is one of the reasons why sailors 
who have “ run their easting down ” on this classic sea way 
have a wholesome respect for the great blue-black combers with 
their snarling crests of silver white that crackle and curl in the 
wake of a stormy night. Such waves have an eight-second 
period, if we may append a scientific fact to something coming 
very close to romance. 

In the Atlantic waves with a speed of twenty knots and a six- 
second period are not uncommon. 

*The Period is the time between the passing of successive wave crests 
measured from a stationary point. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


727 


In shallow waters waves are distorted and piled up. Here 
the waves of translation with broken crest and ugly masses of 
moving water add to the dangers of ship handling. 

Waves piling and breaking on a beach are an instance of the 
effect of shoaling water. 

It is quite possible for two series of waves to be in motion at 
the same time. Each may have its origin at widely different 
points. When the two are in coincidence we have a piling up of 
a great wave, one upon another. Seamen can do a great service 
by carefully studying and observing the characteristics of sea 
waves—indeed no one else can do this except those men who 
actually live upon the sea and observe it under all conditions. 

The height of waves is taken from hollow to crest. Mount 
the rigging and when in the hollow, vessel in the trough, and 
ship upright, sight across the crest to the horizon and measure 
the height of eye above the waterline. This will approximate 
the height of the wave. 

The highest waves observed at sea are in the neighborhood of 
forty feet. These are only possible when there is plenty of sea 
room, or “ fetch ” for them to make up in. Waves of from fifty 
to sixty feet in height are possible but rare. 

Mr. Thomas Stevenson, of lighthouse fame, worked out an 
empirical formula that approximates the possible maximum 
height of waves, the same being considered as a function of the 
“ fetch,” or distance from which they may originate. This is 
as follows: 

Height of wave (in feet) equals the square root of the “ fetch ” 
in nautical miles multiplied by the constant 1.5. 

Or, the distance from which a great wave comes is equal to 
its height divided by 1.5, and the quotient squared. 

This formula seems to give wave heights in excess of those 
actually observed. 

Waves formed by the action of the vessel itself are the how 
waves and the wake. These are of considerable force and are 
very important when steaming through crowded waters or 
through canals. Speed in canals is limited because of their 
erosive action, where the banks are sand. The water of the 
wake has a speed imparted by the skin of the vessel, and in 
single screw ships the propeller works in this water, adding 
somewhat to its propulsive effect. 


728 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


On the other hand the wake movement detracts slightly from 
the effective action of the rudder. 

Rollers are the great waves piling up on a shelving beach. 

The Bore , or eager , is a high crested wave, advancing up river 
with the flood tide. It is liable to do considerable damage if 
met with unawares. Seamen who put into strange rivers or 
estuaries should remember this when handling or mooring their 
vessels. Sailing Directions provide ample information. The 
Bore is met with in such rivers as the Amazon, Hoogly, Ganges, 
Indus and in the Tsientang Estuary. The term is sometimes 
used to describe the “meeting of the tides” in the Bay of Fundy. 

Convoys 

Convoys are a strictly naval measure and are only employed in 
time of war. Many merchant service officers have had experience 
in running in convoy and the few notes here are of a supplement¬ 
ary nature. Conditions under which a convoy may be formed 
are military conditions and these need not be set down here. 

The zig-zag course, a whole convoy changing course at a given 
moment and in a given direction, and the S course where courses 
are constantly changing through the working of automatic 
shifting devices displacing the lubbers line progressively from 
side to side, were worked out and are a part of our knowledge in 
this form of work. 

The towing spar , trailing astern from vessels in convoy forms a 
mark for following vessels to keep ahead of them and is often 
the only guide on a dark night or when running in thick weather. 

Smoke boxes are carried by merchant craft in war time and 
their use is now familiar to many. 

Paravanes are devices streaming out at an angle from either 
bow attached to strong wires shackled to chains leading through 
eyes riveted to the forefoot. These are held out from the vessel’s 
side by underwater kites and carry a sharp cutting knife that 
shears off mines which are carried out clear of the track of the 
vessel by the wire cables trailing the kites. 

Without a doubt the paravane was one of the most useful and 
ingenious devices invented during the war. It was invented by 
Lieutenant Burney, R.N. who is said to have received $150,000 
from the British Government for his service, in addition to other 
honors of a less substantial nature. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


729 


The “ kites ” or “ fishes ” are torpedo-shaped water planes 
fitted with fins and rudder. They can be regulated for any 
desired depth or distance from the vessel depending upon the 
speed, length of wire, and set of the rudders. 



SOOYards. 
->r<— 


U-800 Yards- 


L 0 


c — > 

5 Miles 

-1-> ^-— v 

i .f 0 0 

800 Yards 



.♦. 0 0 0 0 




0 0 0 -. 



14 Destroyers 


B Escort Commander 
C Destroyer with balloon 


0 Troop Transports 




Destroyers 


12 Transports 


A Con voy Commander 


Instructions when in Convoy . Masters of vessels in convoy 
are supplied with instructions which should be complete and 
should be strictly followed. A ship master who does not fully 
understand such instructions should insist upon complete in¬ 
structions. As master of his ship he has certain obligations 
imposed upon him by law. He must see the authority of the 



730 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


naval commander and must receive full instruction governing 
his own vessel as a part of the convoy. Such orders and instruc¬ 
tions are given in detail by the naval commander. 

XIV 

Collision 

Danger of collision is always present where vessels meet and 
practically all of the rules of the road are based upon this possi¬ 
bility. Here a few things will be considered with respect to 
vessels that have already been in collision, or, seeing collision 
is inevitable, have a few moments in which to mitigate its effect. 

An officer in charge of a vessel in danger of collision or about 
to collide, should have a very clear idea of the things he can do 
with his vessel. To suddenly back a single screw ship in an 
attempt to avoid a vessel approaching head on on the port bow, 
for instance, would swing his ship across the other fellow’s bow, 
exposing his broadside to the stem of the approaching vessel. 
Clearly, in such a case it would be bad policy to reverse a single 
screw ship with a right-handed propeller. The thing to do would 
be to put the helm hard a starboard, and stop engines. Of 
course do not ram a vessel that may go clear. 

With a vessel coming on the starboard bow, the backing effect 
would be to throw the bow of the backing vessel toward the bow 
of the approaching vessel, at the same time stopping her way. 
This would make the blow a glancing one rather than a direct 
smash into the side. 

The unwritten rule at sea, in the hard old days, was “ hit 
the other fellow first.” But this only referred to a condition 
where collision is inevitable. Also it sounds worse than it is, for 
very seldom is there any choice when vessels get so close that 
they must collide. But it is a good rule for both vessels to pre¬ 
sent their bows to each other, or to swing in that direction, mak¬ 
ing the blow a glancing one. 

Having collided with another vessel, your bow into his side, 
do not hack out.* If a heavy sea is running the question of 

* “ With a double lookout peering into the fog ahead, the Monroe was 
creeping under half speed northward, and the Nantucket , heavily laden with 
freight, was nosing her way toward Norfolk. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


731 


steaming into the gap made by the stem may be governed by 
the tearing and rending of one ship against another and backing 
out may be necessary. But where the striking vessel can do so 
without further damage to the vessel struck, she should plug 
the hole until satisfied that both vessels have their bulkhead 
doors closed and pumps working. Where a large hole is cut into 
the side of a vessel, opening two holds, it is well if possible to 
transfer passengers over the bow of the striking vessel. The 
vessel struck should stop her engines at once. This is a safe 
rule to follow. 

In such a case bow of one vessel into side of another, it may 
be necessary to get out heavy stern lines from the striking vessel 
to the vessel struck to prevent the two craft from slewing broad¬ 
side to in the sea and further opening up the gap. The quickest 
and clearest headed seamanship is needed under such conditions. 
Boats should be swung out on both vessels, passengers mustered, 
life belts issued ready for anything that may arise. Insist upon 
quiet, maintain order and discipline. 

Many lives have been lost and much property has been sunk 
through lack of cool understanding in such emergencies. 

A shipmaster who meets with a collision (as every one may) 
and who acts quickly and with cool judgment, saving lives and 
property, may turn a disaster into a personal triumph. 

In the event of a collision both vessels must stand by. See 
page 604. 

The full report of a collision must also be entered in the official 
log book. Always note all changes of course, speed and weather 
with exact time. 

“ The two vessels, moving slowly through the dense fog, were gradually 
drawn toward each other. 

“ Without warning, the crash came—in the grayblack mist that shut even 
the waves from view, the feeble gleam of the Nantucket's searchlight scarcely 
touched the dripping side of the Monroe before the knife-like bow of the 
south bound vessel cut into the other’s side with a crashing and ripping of 
steel plates that threw the stricken ship aback, and the Nantucket , with her 
bow crushed in, BACKED out of sight into the fog. 

“ The order was shouted for lifeboats, but so soon did the Monroe roll 
over on her side and plunge beneath the waves that many who were fortunate 
enough to reach the deck safely were left afloat to be picked up by boats 
sent out from the Nantucket. Others, unable to leave their staterooms were 
caught like rats in a trap with no chance whatever to save themselves.” 

— Master, Mate and Pilot. 


732 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



The Italian Lloyd S. S. Florida in the Morse Dry Dock, N. Y., after 
ramming and sinking the S. S. Republic in January, 1909. Jack Binns, 
wireless operator of the latter vessel became famous when he sent out his 
C.Q.D. after the collision. The photograph shows the tremendous impact 
of such a collision. 







HANDLING A STEAMER 


733 



As collision cases gener¬ 
ally end up in the admiralty ( 
courts, the Master who 
violates any part of the 
law must be prepared to 
have his violation set up 
against him as a presump¬ 
tion of fault. The reader 
will do well to consult 
Hughes, On Admiralty, in 
connection with this impor¬ 
tant question of the legal 
aftermath of collision. 

Concrete vessels seem 
to be a dangerous proposi¬ 
tion when we think of the 
possibility of collision. Like 
crockery pots—they either 
don’t break, or they sink.* 


Straight Stem versus In¬ 
clined or Clipper Stem 


The undoubted danger 
of fitting all vessels with a 
sharp straight stem that, 
in the event of collision, 
cuts directly down to 


* Newport, Oct. 29, 1920.— 

The concrete steamer Cape Fear 
was sunk in the deepest part of 
Narragansett Bay tonight in a 
collision with the Savannah Line 
steamer City of Atlanta. At a 
late hour nineteen of the crew 
of thirty-four of the sunken ves¬ 
sel were unaccounted for. 

The Cape Fear sank in three 
minutes about half way between Cut down by a straight stem. 

Castle Hill on the Newport 

shore and Rose Island, going down bow first in 125 fathoms. 





734 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the water’s edge,* has lately received some attention. The 
straight stem, aside from its simple construction, has nothing to 
specially recommend it. A considerable forward rake of the 
stem piece would improve the appearance of most vessels. The 
need for carrying upward of the knife edge stem is also far from 
apparent. By widening the forecastle head, and making the 
bow, well above the water line and inclining forward, rounded 
instead of sharp, the danger due to collision would be greatly 
minimized. A more comfortable vessel would be the result and 
considerable reserve buoyancy and storage and working space 
would be gained in the forecastle. Perhaps naval architects 
may someday do this. 

Water-tight doors | are generally built after two plans. Either 
they are hinged and swing to against gaskets of rubber or other 
material and are set close by means of dogs and screws, or they 

* On the 25th of April, 1908, the S. S. St. Paul and H. M. cruiser Gladiator 
were both making their way in the waters of the Solent. The wind was 
blowing in squalls, and every now and then flurries of snow shut off vision 
except for a short range of a few hundred feet. Finally, the driving flakes 
blinded the men on the bridges of the nearing liner and the fighting craft and, 
before either vessel could be swung clear, the straight stem of the St. Paul 
crashed at an oblique angle into the starboard broadside of the warship, 
ripping the Gladiator's shell plating right down to the very bottom of her 
moulded structure. As a result, a hole 50 feet long, extending to within a 
few inches of the bilge, was opened in the cruiser’s side through which the 
sea poured in a flood and carried the craft to the bottom in a few minutes. 

f The International Convention Rules for watertight doors, in vessels 
carrying more than 200 passengers, make it necessary to have, either doors 
which close by their own weight or by power pressure, and in any case oper¬ 
ated from the bridge. Actually it is not often possible, in practice, to make 
all the watertight doors in the machinery spaces slide vertically so that they 
will close by their own weight. The result is that power-operated doors must 
be fitted, so that the Convention Rules do, in effect, require a power-operated, 
centrally-controlled system of watertight doors in passenger steamers. 

In a passenger vessel, therefore, the choice remains between solid bulk¬ 
heads and centrally-controlled, power-operated doors, and the advantages 
of doors are so obvious as compared with the inconvenient system of unpierced 
bulkheads that, in these days of high wages and short working hours, it 
follows that the moderate expense of installing an efficient power system 
would quickly be exceeded by the wages bill where solid bulkheads were 
fitted. It appears certain that all liners will in future have their bulkheads 
pierced for watertight doors, and that such doors will be centrally controlled 
and operated by power.—“ Engineering.” 



HANDLING A STEAMER 


735 


are sliding doors and are held in contact by wedge-shaped cams 
and are also close fitted or made watertight by gaskets. 

The method of control, either by hand or motor should be 
understood by all, and on large passenger liners and transports a 
complete system of signals, showing the state of the watertight 
doors should be led to the bridge and engine room. 

Doors operated by power are all of the sliding type and are 
vertical or horizontal sliding doors. Operating doors from the 
bridge should carry with it an adequate alarm before closing or 
else very unhappy results might ensue to some unfortunate 
trying to get through just as the door closes. 

Where watertight doors are fitted frequent drills should be 
held and the doors should all be operated before starting on a 
voyage. All doors should be kept closed unless their being open 
is essential. At all times the Master, Chief Mate, and Officer of 
the Watch should be informed as to just what doors are open. 
When running in a fog have all doors closed, or at least have some¬ 
one ready to close doors that are open should a collision occur. 

Men of war carry large collision mats, heavy canvas thrum 
mats fitted with hogging lines from the lower corners to lead 
under the keel, and distance lines from the upper corners to 
stretch the mat fore and aft. 

Such mats should be very heavy, of two or three thicknesses 
of canvas and with the thrum surface next the ship’s side. 

Spare tarpaulins or sails may be used if a hole is to be stopped 
on a merchantman. Use great care to have the mats and the 
lines properly secured before passing it over the side. A bight 
of stream chain lashed at the lower edge of the mat has been 
found of great use in placing a collision mat. A patent collision 
mat has recently been devised. This consists of a number of 
steel pipes set close together and parallel to each other and all 
securely stopped to a heavy mat. The device is secured over 
the hole, pipes parallel to the water and unrolled downward 
against the inrush of water. This seems to be a very practical 
thing. The inventor is Mr. John L. Hyland of New York. 

Ice and Derelicts 

Collision with these dangers to navigation is always a possi¬ 
bility and should be uppermost in mind. Collision with derelicts 

26 


736 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


is end on, and usually at top speed, and of course is liable to have 
serious consequences, such as fire, damage to engines, and a gen¬ 
eral shaking up and breaking up of all concerned, depending 
upon the solidity and mass of the derelict. 

In colliding with ice still greater dangers are to be expected 
as a vessel may rip open a considerable length of her side. This 
happened on the Titanic. 

The notes below are taken from H. O. Reprint No. 2. They 
sum up the 

Signs of the Proximity of Ice 

Ice Blink. Before field ice is seen from deck the ice blink 
will often indicate its presence. On a clear day over an ice 
field on the horizon the sky will be much paler or lighter in color 
and is easily distinguished from that overhead, so that a sharp 
lookout should be kept and changes in the color of the sky noted. 

On clear nights, especially when the moon is up, the sky along 
the horizon in the direction of the ice is markedly lighter than 
the rest of the horizon. This effect can be noted before the 
ice is sighted. 

Visibility in Daylight. On a clear day icebergs can be seen 
at a long distance, owing to their brightness; during foggy 
weather they are first seen through the fog as a black object. 
In thick fog the first sight of a berg is apt to be a narrow streak 
of dark at the water line. 

Echoes. They can sometimes be detected by the echo from 
the steam whistle or the fog horn. In that case, by noting the 
time between the blast of a whistle and the reflected sound, the 
distance of the berg in feet may be approximately found by multi¬ 
plying by 550. The absence of echo is by no means proof that 
no bergs are near, for unless there is a fairly vertical wall, no 
return of the sound waves can be expected. 

Noise. The presence of icebergs is often made known by the 
noise of their breaking up and falling to pieces. The cracking 
of the ice or the falling of pieces into the sea makes a noise like 
breakers or a distant discharge of guns, which may often be 
heard a short distance. 

Absence of Swell. The absence of swell or wave motion in a 
fresh breeze is a sign that there is land or ice on the weather 
side. 

Animal Life. The appearance of herds of seal or flocks of 
murre far from land is an indication of the proximity of ice. 

Temperature Air. The special temperature studies made 
during the ice patrol of 1914 showed that no definite tempera¬ 
ture effects of the air can be attributed to the presence of ice¬ 
bergs. Also that if there are temperature effects of sea water 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


737 


due to icebergs they are not distinguishable from the irregular 
variations observed. 

Temperature Water . In the ice zone ice is more likely to be 
found in cold water than in warm. So when encountering water 
below 40° in spring and below 50° in early summer, it is well to 
be on guard for ice. In foggy weather it is advisable to keep in 
water above 50° while crossing the ice zone, thereby avoiding 
both ice and fog. 

Calf Ice. A reliable sign of icebergs being near is the presence 
of calf ice. When such pieces occur in a curved line, as they 
may do, especially in calm weather, the parent berg is on the 
concave side of the curve. 

No ship captain can afford to trust any of the above-named 
signs to the exclusion of a good lookout. 

A remarkable optical phenomenon was observed one day by 
the ice patrol of 1914 when an iceberg which was ordinarily 
below the horizon was seen raised above it, at one time inverted 
and at another time erect. This phenomenon was observed 
near the Gulf Stream. 

Bilging 

Bilging is the rupturing of the shell of a vessel at any point 
below the water line and at once effects her stability and her 
buoyancy. This may be due to collision, or to some internal 
cause such as an explosion, of boilers or cargo. It also results 
from grounding on rocks, or other vessels sunken in a fairway. 
In war time, and for a considerable time afterward, bilging may 
be caused by contact with mines. 

In the event of bilging the closing of watertight doors is in 
order. The following should be done at once: 

Start pumps. Sound wells. 

Watch heel and trim. If a hole is not too far below the water¬ 
line a vessel may be heeled over to bring the hole above or 
nearer the surface. The higher up the less water will flow 
through in a given time. This maneuver depends somewhat 
upon the state of the sea.* 

Watch draft gauges if fitted to keep tabs on the action of pumps. 

When possible examine all bulkheads next to flooded com¬ 
partments and if possible strengthen them by shores, should it 
seem necessary. 

*If state of sea permits, lower boats on side of hole and unhook. Lower 
boats on other side, fill with water and hoist clear. Otherwise fill these 
boats with a hose. Only do this if there is no immediate need of the boats. 
Also trim with tanks. 


738 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


When a cargo hold is bilged the permeability of the cargo 
should be taken into account. If the vessel is stowed with light 
freight of non-permeable character, it will add to her buoyancy 
by displacing water. Also consider floodable length. See page 26. 

On the other hand if she is close stowed, with grain, let us 
say rice, the swelling of the cargo becomes of the utmost moment 
in considering her safety. 

Hatch covers on vessels of standard design are built on the 
principle of the alligator’s jaw, which is powerful to crush any¬ 
thing but just strong enough to open up. The hatch is powerful 
against water pressure on top but practically useless against 
pressure from underneath. 

Hatches have been designed to work both ways, and all 
hatches on a bulkhead deck should be of such construction that 
they become an integral part of the deck, and both deck and 
hatches should be so designed that in the event of bilging the 
deck will not lift and the hatches cannot fly off when the water 
rises in a hold and the air pressure under deck becomes equal 
to the water pressure under the bottom. 

Such construction would reduce the danger from bilging to 
a very great extent. Hatches could be made of steel fitting into 
gaskets and these could be screwed down from below. A small 
hatch cap would admit the men for securing the hatch, and 
would also admit of a complete filling of the hatch square, if 
need be, and this hatch cap, in turn, could be screwed down 
like a man hole. The whole thing could be lifted by the cargo 
booms in one hoist and deposited, end up at the side of the hatch 
away from the winches. Such hatches might be hinged and 
fold back against the hatch openings and be worked by special 
gears from the winches. All of this of course is nothing new— 
however it is not being done at present. 

Marine underwriters should have some interest in seeing 
hatches on the bulkhead deck properly constructed from the 
standpoint of safety, both against bilging and fire. The present 
wooden deck hatch covers are unsafe. 

XV 

Stranding 

Practically every seaman, at some time or another, puts his 
vessel aground, or at least is on board of some such unfortunate 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


739 


craft. The writer recalls quite a few stirring incidents of this 
kind. It was great fun, in a way, especially to watch the Skipper. 
Later on the fun was not so apparent when his own ship touched 
on the bar off the foot of Duval Street, at Key West. 

The procedure when stranding is simple. Know the state 
of the tide—if falling act without hesitation and at once. Start 
to pump out tanks, sound along sides and get the location of 
the point of contact with bottom, sound the wells, and if con¬ 
ditions permit, prepare to put all boats overboard without delay, 
lightening the vessel of many tons of weight, if she is a big ship 
with large boat equipment. Place handy weights in boats. 

Sometimes a vessel may back off at once. At other times, 
if grounded amidship on a reef, fill tanks forward, pump out aft, 
and go ahead full speed. 

The most serious condition, of course, is taking the beach at 
high tide, and in an exposed position with regard to the wind 
and sea. 

If the vessel is fast lay out anchors a t once to prevent her going 
further on the beech. If tugs are standing by use tugs to carry 
out the bower anchors with best wire hawsers bent. 

If grounded in sand care must be taken not to fill the condenser 
with sand by continuing the use of the engines. The writer 
recalls the grounding of the old American Liner St. Louis , in 
the Solent, near Hurst Castle. This fortunately happened near 
low water but on a falling tide. The backing of the engines 
began to pile the sand up under the bottom, so this was stopped. 
Later on as the tide rose she slid off under her own power al¬ 
though the bow was lifted ten feet above her normal water line. 
The trouble came through a yacht luffing across the bow, the 
helm was jambed hard a port to avoid the yacht and the steering 
gear stuck with the helm hard over. She piled high and dry 
with the engines kicking full speed astern. 

Captain C. A. McAllister, U.S.C.G. (retired), Vice-President 
of the American Bureau of Shipping, well known as an authority 
on marine engineering, has given the author the following data 
on working the condenser when aground in sandy bottom. 

Sand in Condenser 

This is generally impossible if the main injection valve. is 
placed on the hull at or above the turn of the bilge. Many ships 


740 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


are provided with two main injection valves at bottom and side 
of the ship. On such a ship, if she take the ground, all that is 
necessary is to close the bottom injection and open the side. 
On ships not provided with double injections there is frequently 
a connection made from one of the auxiliary pumps, such as the 
ballast pump or auxiliary feed pump to the water end of the 
condenser. This can be used temporarily for injection purposes. 
Some ships are provided with hose connections on water ends 
of condenser whereby circulating water may temporarily be 
provided through the fire hose. If the outboard delivery happens 
to be below the waterline, water may be allowed to flow by 
gravity through the condenser into the bilges temporarily and 
pumped overboard from the bilges. Should none of these means 
be available a temporary exhaust pipe could be used, made of 
canvas or sheet metal, discharging into condenser through the 
engine room trunk. 

Innumerable cases of stranding are on record. The American 
Liner St. Paul spent eleven days on the sands off the Jersey 
Coast in midwinter, 1896, piling up early in the morning of 
January 25 in a fog and sliding off on February 4. While the 
many attempts were being made to haul the vessel off into deep 
water a telephone line was connected to the stranded ship, 
being the first instance of this use of the telephone. 

Another famous case of stranding in recent years was that of 
the North German Lloyd Liner Prinzess Irene on Lone Hill Bar, 
Fire Island. Three days after grounding on April 7, 1911, she 
was hauled off with little damage. The discussion in the press 
resulted in the following important letters advocating and 
explaining a method of freeing ships from the sand that has the 
weight of engineering use behind it. It should be known to 
seamen more generally. Piles are sunk into hard sand and 
lifted clear again by the use of a water jet; the same use of 
water to clear the skin of a ship from friction and to float her is 
feasible and easy of application. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


741 


Treatment of Ships Ashore 


Suggests That Water Be Forced 
Through Pipes Along Their Keels 

To the Editor of The New York 
Times: 

I wish to make public a suggestion 
that may possibly be of use in the case 
of stranding of vessels as in the recent 
case of the Prinzess Irene. If I 
understand it, when a steamer runs 
ashore, on a sandbar or beach, the 
sand, after the motion of the vessel 
has ceased, takes such a strong hold 
on the surface of the hull that it is ex¬ 
tremely difficult to pull the vessel off. 

I suppose this action of the sand to be 
something like that when a pile is 
driven in a river bottom. If I am cor¬ 
rectly informed, immediately after a 
pile is driven it can readily be with¬ 
drawn, but after the sand, or earthy 
material, has settled about it, and 
displaced the water on its skin, and 
taken hold on the pile, it requires a 
number of times as much force to 
withdraw the pile as was used to 
drive it. 

My suggestion is that perforated 
pipes be run along the keel of a vessel 
on each side, and connected with the 
ship’s pumps, so that, in case of 
stranding, water could be forced out 
of the perforations, and this water, in 
passing upward along the hull, be¬ 
tween the sand and the hull, would, I 
think, be found to disturb the sand 
and to materially lessen its hold on 
the hull. I am led to think this by the 
fact that piles are driven by forcing 
water through them to the lower end 
and then allowing it to escape, the 
action of the water disturbing the 
sand so that the piles can sink. 

Edwin J. Prindle. 
New York, April 16, 1911. 

This brought forth the in¬ 
teresting letter by Mr. Picard, 
printed in next column, telling 
of a very successful use of the 
water jet to free ships held by 
sand. 


Cites Case in Which Ship’s Pumps 
Were Rigged to Disperse the Sand 

To the Editor of The New York 
Times: 

It may interest your readers to 
know, in connection with the sug¬ 
gestion offered by Mr. Edwin J. 
Prindle in your columns some days 
ago to float stranded ships on a sandy 
coast by “ forcing water through per¬ 
forated pipes running along the keel 
of a vessel on each side,” that it 
would be practically impossible to 
accomplish, for any one who knows 
the circumstances of the sea and 
shipbuilding; however, the idea has 
already been put in practice with suc¬ 
cess, but in a different way. Twenty 
years ago an English squadron cast 
anchor outside of Port Said, previous 
to entering the Suez Canal, and 
through some inexplicable error one 
of the men of war was rim full speed 
high and dry on one of the sand shoals 
of the roadstead. The efforts of all 
the tugs sent to her assistance and 
some of her sister ships put together 
could not budge her. 

I do not remember how long she 
remained stranded until the engin¬ 
eers conceived the plan to use the 
ships’ and other pumps in connection 
with a battery of pipes lowered verti¬ 
cally on either quarter, right under 
her stern post, and the operation to 
float her was started. 

The water pumped through the 
beds of sand soon began to tell, for, 
in conjunction with the hauling of 
other craft, her own efforts on her 
kedge anchors she moved inch by 
inch easily, the pipes being displaced 
alongside the board as she was free¬ 
ing herself into deep water, until she 
finally floated unhurt. 

The deed was highly praised at the 
time and recorded in all the nautical 
papers of the world; it was the first 
time the scheme had been put in 
practice. 

G. S. Picard. 

New York, April 26, 1911. 


742 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



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The Case of the S. S. Arakan 

On August 29, 1920, the Dutch 
steamer Arakan fetched up on the 
California beach six miles north of 
Point Reyes. This happened at four 
bells in the mid watch. As this was a 
very successful salvage operation the 
story of its details is taken from an 
excellent account in the Pacific Ma¬ 
rine Review of October, 1920. 

“ When tugs and salvage vessels arrived 
at the scene they found the Arakan nearly 
broadside on to the beach and hawsers were 
passed aboard from both tugs. The tugs 
pulled all night and by morning the Arakan 
had been fairly well straightened out. As 
the vessel was steaming ahead at a seven- 
knot clip when she struck, she was well up on 
the beach, straddling a hump of sand, with 
the surf breaking against the starboard side. 
The accident happened during high tide, and 
when the water fell there was but sixteen feet 
of water amidships, the stem was barely afloat, 
and the stern was buried in four feet of sand. 
As time passed, the big ship snuggled down 
in a bed of sand amidships estimated at about 
eight feet. The strain was terrific on the hull 
and the plates in the bottom buckled badly 
and the boilers and engines became useless. 

“ The prompt work of the tugs kept the ship 
from pounding to pieces and permitted the 
operations to be conducted successfully after¬ 
wards. Captain Cecil M. Brown* appeared 
at the wreck on Monday afternoon at 4:30 
o’clock aboard the tug Chief. He hoped to get 
aboard the Arakan , but, owing to the rough 
surf, dashing against the steel hull and break¬ 
ing clear over the bridge, the plan had to be 
abandoned. In the meantime the Sea Queen 
and Sea King had returned to San Francisco 
and the tugs Sea Fox and Restless had taken 
the lines from the Arakan. 

* Of the Board of Marine Underwriters, San Fran¬ 
cisco. 







HANDLING A STEAMER 


743 


u Captain Brown released the Chief that night and waited 
for the arrival of the Homer.* She encountered a heavy fog at 
the harbor entrance and had to feel her way to the wreck, by 
following the breaker line. She anchored in a position 1000 feet 
from the Arakan on Tuesday at 4 a. m. In the meantime the 
steamer had started to broach to the beach again and there was a 
battle of the tugs for many hours before the hull lined out straight 
from the beach. 



This picture, taken from an aeroplane, the “ Arakan ” gripped by the 
sand of Point Reyes, Cal. She is the only vessel ever to touch on Point 


Reyes and come off again. 

“ Immediately after the arrival of the Homer , Captain Brown 
came aboard and consulted with Captain Seike. It was decided 
to begin laying the moorings, including the big anchors, imme¬ 
diately. Simultaneously it was agreed that it would be best to 
run out the anchors of the Arakan and Captain Brown and 
Captain Langren shifted to the wreck. Brown put the engine 
room crew to work repairing two of the boilers and steam con¬ 
nections in order to have the necessary steam for working the 
ship’s winches. This was done in a few hours and Langren ran 
the anchors. The port hook was carried back astern forty-five 
fathoms by the Restless, but the rough sea on the starboard side 
made necessary the use of the pontoon from the Homer. Pre¬ 
viously this pontoon had been used to carry to the wreck the 
huge blocks, wire and other gear from the Homer. 

“ While this work was conducted aboard the Arakan, Captain 
Seike proceeded to lay his big anchors. These were laid in 

* Salvage steamer. 




744 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


tandem, each being marked by a small mooring. Longshoremen 
brought from San Francisco came aboard the Arakan in the 
afternoon and prepared to jettison such cargo as was deemed 
necessary by Captain Brown. They started work at 7 p. m. on 
Tuesday, but belayed at 8 o’clock because it was deemed best 
to refrain from lightening ship until all the purchases could be 
secured and a simultaneous pull exercised. 

“ Captain Seike completed laying the moorings on Tuesday 
just before midnight and all was in readiness to run the big five- 
inch wire from the main mooring to the Arakan. The tugboat- 
men refused to undertake this work until the morning because 
there was considerable danger that the hawsers might become 
fouled. Captain Langren ran the wire at 4 a. m. and Theodore 
Wicks, who was aboard the Arakan and in charge of the Homer 
share of the job, promptly made the end fast to one of the big 
blocks and started to take in the slack. At 7 a. m. this slack 
had been taken in and all was taut. The purchase on the ship’s 
anchors had also been taken in and then the stevedores started 
to spill copra cake into the sea. 

“ Captain Brown, who kept in close touch with the operations, 
decided that a few hundred tons of cargo over the side would 
suffice, and when 350 tons of cake had been jettisoned he ordered 
all hands to belay. The purchases on anchors and moorings 
had been fleeted and at 10:30 a. m. there was a total strain esti¬ 
mated at better than 350 tons. Captain Brown was so certain 
that the ship would float at noon—high tide—that he flashed a 
message ashore to that effect. 

“ All about the scene was expectancy. The tugs Alert and 
Intrepid were stationed in readiness to take a tow when the 
ship slid off. No move was made until 11:30. The weather 
had cleared, until but little fog was in evidence. The tide rose 
constantly and then the hull began to grind a bit and rock as 
the huge pressure of the sea became manifest. The winchman 
took in just the slightest bit of slack that was now noted in the 
big five-inch line. Then the anchor chains were tautened a bit 
more. The tide was due to rise a few inches more at 11:45, 
when all of the lines began to sag a bit. The winchmen used a 
bit more of steam and then all realized that the ship was actually 
shifting from her sand cradle out toward the deep water. The 
ship moved faster, and just fourteen minutes before the noon 
hour and sixteen minutes after the full power of the purchases 
was effected, the Arakan was floating safely, ready to tow to San 
Francisco.” 

Here it will be noted that the Arakan was pulled off by her 
own winches. Water jets might have been useful. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


745 


The Floating of the S. S. Ecuador 

The following letter by Capt. C. F. Depre appeared in the 
Grace Log and contains several excellent points of seamanship. 

“ Speaking of shipwrecks, puts me in mind of one very serious 
stranding of the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. in 1900. 

“ On the 10th of July, 1900, a telegram was received at the 
head office, Valparaiso, that their S. S. Ecuador had run ashore 
at 6 a. m. on the day previous at Morgilla Beach, some fifteen 
miles south of Lebu and ninety miles north of Corral. 



S. S. Ecuador ashore at Morgilla Beach. This picture was taken by Captain 
Depre at the time of the wreck. 


“ The ship struck the outside breakers just before dawn, and, 
being light, as she only had 300 tons of cargo on board, was 
pushed shorewards bodily by the heavy seas. By midday 
the crew were landed by rocket apparatus, which had been set 
up by a boat’s crew from the ship who had risked the landing. 
By evening all hands were on shore, and went to some nearby 
farm houses for the night. 

“ Mr. George Sharpe, the West Coast manager at Valparaiso, 
and Captain Harris, the Marine Superintendent, made a hurried 
trip south, and, after looking over the conditions, decided that an 
effort should be made to get the vessel off, as the hull was not 
damaged and engines and boilers were intact. I volunteered 
for the position of taking full charge of the salvage of the ship 
and got together a crew for the work. 







746 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ August 10th, or thirty days after the ship stranded, we started 
from Valparaiso for the wreck. The party consisted of Captain 
Depre, 20 A. B., 2 O. S., 2 firemen, 6 carpenters, 1 diver, 1 cook, 
1 steward’s boy, 34 all told. We arrived on board the wreck at 
4 p. m., 16th of August, and at once set to work to clear up the 
wreckage, and sent the ship’s crew to Valparaiso, where the 
Court of Enquiry was held at the British Consulate, and verdict 
given that the ship was set in during the night, and that no one 
was to blame for the accident. 

“ The plan to get the ship off was as follows: The company’s 
tug Assistance was to bring down two anchors and 180 fathoms 
of 2-inch cable for each anchor. The anchors to be laid out 
seawards, and then 3-inch wires shackled on to the end of the 
cable chain, each about 1800 yards long, and to be hauled in by 
ropes floated to the ship on balsas fitted with sails and six empty 
barrels lashed to the sides of each, to give it more floating power. 
As the wind was nearly always from the south, the Assistance 
went well to the southward when sending the line. When we 
received the small line floated in by the balsa, we hove in until 
we received a 5-inch Manila hawser which brought in the wire. 

How Wire Was Floated 

“ The wire was floated in on empty barrels lashed at intervals 
of about forty feet, and was a most successful way of floating 
in the wire without allowing it to drag on the bottom. After the 
two wires were received on board and set up with big purchased 
tackles, which were secured to the foot of the iron main-mast, 
and when spring tides came round, we pulled on the tackles for 
an hour before and after high-water, and we slowly pulled the 
ship’s head around from N. N. E. to West, and on the 10th of 
October we made the first attempt to pull her out, but owing to a 
big sea running, we had to stack away the wire and allow her to 
fall in on the beach again. Another unsuccessful attempt was 
made on the 24th of October. Our third and successful effort 
was made on the 15th of November at night, and we pulled the 
ship off the outside breakers about midnight. 

“ At daybreak we hove up to our north anchor and proceeded 
under steam to Lebu, where we took in 100 tons of bunker coal 
and 400 tons in the hold as ballast, and sailed for Valparaiso 
twenty-four hours later. We arrived at Valparaiso on the 17th 
of November, at 6 p. m., and moored the ship awaiting dry dock. 
On the 19th of November, we entered the dry dock and found 
over 3000 rivets loose and the rudder post cracked, which had 
to be repaired. 

“ The ship was just three weeks in dry dock making repairs, 
and on the 10th of December took up her usual sailing to Port 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


747 


Montt and way ports. Her starting out was most opportune 
for the company, as they were just starting to extend the line to 
San Francisco, and would not have been able to do so had the 
Ecuador not been floated and ready to take her run. The vessel 
was 118 days on the beach, and it was indeed wonderful that she 
suffered such small damage. 

“ In conclusion, I may say that I was specially promoted to 
command the ship I was successful in floating, and remained in 
command of her over a year, when I was promoted to a larger 
ship.” 

Here, as in the Arakan , the vessel came off with her winches 
working on a suitable purchase and without the use of tugs. 

The salving of the Arakan , lying with engine disabled and 
on an exposed beach taken at full speed during high tide speaks 
well for the seamanship of the salvors. It also shows that a 
vessel need never be given up so long as she holds together. 

The recent case of the refloating and refitting of the British 
ship Andrina run ashore on the sandy beach at Policarpe on the 
coast of Tierra del Fuego in the spring of 1899, and successfully 
floated off in February, 1918, by man power alone, is fresh in 
mind. She was five hundred meters farther up the beach when 
pulled off than when she struck. And after nineteen years of 
rest on the beach, $40,000 worth of cargo was salved by the 
seamen who took her off, re-rigged her and sailed her to New 
York to be refitted. She is now at sea under the Chilian flag, 
named the Alejandrina. 

Vessels under certain conditions are freed from the grip of 
the sand by “ rocking them off .” Anchors are laid out to sea¬ 
ward and the making up of the sea helps the pull of the anchor 
cables, or any other means available, to move the vessel clear. 

From the cases cited it will be seen that very many factors 
enter into the freeing of a vessel that has grounded. The U. S . S. 
Vicksburgh ran on a sharp rock. She was floated off by cement¬ 
ing the rock into her bottom and by blasting it off outside of the 
hull. Hydraulic cement is most useful under many conditions 
where repairs have to be made to hulls. This is generally known 
as Portland Cement, and a considerable supply should be part 
of the ship’s stores. It is most useful in many ways. 

In lightening a ship by throwing cargo overboard, or jettisoning 
cargo, that part which floats is called Flotsam , the part which 


748 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


sinks is called Jetsam , and cargo that sinks but is marked by 
a buoy is called Ligan. 

In grounding it is well to use any means at hand to loosen the 
grip of the bottom while at the same time kicking ahead, or 
astern, on the engines. In the experience mentioned at the 
beginning of this section, the writer put the Schoolship Newport 
hard and fast amidship of her length on a coral reef in Key West 
Harbor. A very brisk breeze was blowing at the time a point 
or so on the port bow. Soundings were taken at once locating 
the reef, all boats were made ready to lower, the fore yards were 
braced up sharp by starboard braces, the fore topsail (single) 
was loosed, sheeted home and hoisted flat. Then at a given 
word, boats were lowered, fore topsail was boxed around by 
port braces, and the engine kicked hard astern as she began to 
heel and pivot. The vessel slid off the bottom without damage. 
Just then two powerful navy tugs steamed alongside. It was a 
rather agreeable thing to inform the youngster in command of 
the tugs that assistance was not required, “ thank you!” 

Remember these things— 

If your vessel runs aground. 

Know state of tide. 

Sound all around. 

Form a plan—be careful. 

Have all forces act together. 

Lay out anchors if it can e done —at once. 

If bow on, try to keep stern free. 

When tide and wind are right, trim tanks, drop weights. 
Work all freeing agencies together. 

When in a bad fix don’t hesitate to take assistance when you 
need it. Make no bargains, if possible, unless you are certain 
to make a good one—then get it in writing. The shipmaster 
should always remember that his business on the sea is that of a 
merchant, out to make money for his owners, and by the same 
token he is looked upon as fair prey for anyone who can get the 
best of him in a matter of business. As soon as a vessel meets 
with trouble this unpleasant but important side of seafaring 
comes to the fore.* 

* The Handbook for Masters by W. H. LaBoyteaux has a fine chapter on 
“ First Aid to Stranded Vessels.” 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


749 


XVI 

Fire 

The fire drill and the fire mains and connections have been 
taken up in previous chapters. Here the larger questions of 
ship handling when fire is discovered on board will be considered. 
A fire when alongside, where shore assistance is at hand, need 
not be specially considered. The usual methods of fire fighting 
are employed, fire boats, fire engines, and fire hydrants from the 
shore, supplement the equipment of the vessel. The saving of 
life is less difficult, though very severe fire losses have been 
suffered alongside of wharves. Many will remember the burn¬ 
ing of the German liners at Hoboken some years ago and the 
terrible loss of life. Ports were so small that men caught below 
decks could not get through to safety and perished miserably in 
the flames. A good precaution, already mentioned, is to run a 
wire fire warp along any dock filled with inflammable material. 
Should fire start on the wharf, and the engines not be in com¬ 
mission, or tugs not be handy, the vessel has a chance to work 
clear of the wharf. All fire hose couplings on ship and shore 
should be of standard size. 

The general fire alarm on board ship is a rapid ringing of the 
ship’s bell. Other fire alarms are fitted in all living and working 
compartments and are of the same character, namely, a rapid 
ringing of an alarm gong. 

Fire stations (see the general Station Bill. Page 381.) 

Upon the discovery of fire, sound the alarm and order all 
hands to fire stations. On a passenger vessel swing out boats 
(unless weather forbids). Consider the fire to he serious unless 
certain of the contrary. Every fire may soon spread and with 
certain cargoes the danger is extreme. 

Close all openings to hold or compartment where fire is located. 
Start all smothering agencies. Be certain that men have left 
hold or compartment before turning on steam or carbon dioxide 
gas. Where a sprinkler system is used the water can be turned 
on at once, if it is not automatic. 

Weather and sea permitting, place the vessel directly under 
the wind. Avoid excessive rolling, or wallowing in the sea. 
Moderate speed may be preferable to this, as it shakes up the 
fire and adds to its intensity. 


750 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


On a sailer clew up the courses and shorten sail, but do not 
allow her to roll more than is necessary. 

Smoke helmets and masks should be out, as part of the fire 
drill routine and used before sending men into the holds. 

Where a fire gains headway rapidly and is located in a lower 
hold it is sometimes possible to extinguish it by opening sea 
cocks and flooding the hold through the bilge suctions. Knowing 
the condition of stability this can be done and the hold pumped 
out when the fire is extinguished. The kind and permeability 
of the cargo in the hold should be considered when attempting 
this. A master would be justified, under certain favorable 
conditions of the sea, to lower his freeboard until practically 
awash—always keeping his pumps in hand and watching the 
weather. 

The cargo diagram, the nature of cargo, or bunker coal, on 
fire, and the kind and location of inflammable materials sur¬ 
rounding the fire are all to be considered. 

When fire starts all dangerous cargo, even some distance 
from the fire, should be made ready to throw overboard. Ad¬ 
jacent holds should be filled with gas—as this will usually not 
harm the cargo—or with steam, after the hold on fire has been 
filled. 

When fire starts it is well to radio facts to owners and if it 
cannot be controlled make for nearest safe port, stating route 
and speed. 

When in shallow waters and with fire gaining on extinguishing 
efforts, carefully select position for scuttling ship at last recourse. 
Hard clean sand bottom, if available. Sheltered location. 
Vessel just awash at high tide, out of fairway, as near port as 
possible. These are the most desirable points to have in 
mind. 

Bring ship to, take soundings, anchor by short scope, open sea 
cocks, turn condenser discharge into bilges, open injection valves, 
draw fires, blow off steam, get boats ready, save ship’s valuables, 
papers, etc. Lift hatch covers, if necessary to allow escape of 
air, and open all sluice gates to equalize the water level. Get 
accurate bearings of vessel on chart, and note same—have them 
checked by an officer, as masts and upper works may be carried 
away and vessel may drop from sight after abandonment. 


HANDLINGJjA ^STEAMER 


751 


Causes of Fire on Board Ship 

Fire may start in so many ways that to attempt to enumerate 
would be useless. One general rule can be set down. Fire 
always starts because some one has been careless. 

It may be the fault of the cargo, its improper condition, or 
because it contains some forbidden dangerous ingredient. Poor 
or careless stowage, oily waste hidden near some inflammable 
stuff. Defective electrical insulation. Sparks down a venti¬ 
lator. Poor ventilation, as in the case of a coal cargo. 

The spontaneous combustion of bituminous coal in holds or 
bunkers may happen on any voyage. It is careless and im¬ 
proper to stow other inflammable cargo over coal or near it, 
unless this cannot be avoided. (See instructions for stowing 
coal cargo, page 310.) 

Lightning may strike the vessel and set her on fire. This is 
an act of God, and no one can be blamed. 

Prevention of Fire 

Take the utmost precaution in stowage, in the carrying of lights 
into holds, in the closing of ventilators in the wake of sparks. 
Smoking in holds should be forbidden at all times. Officers must 
look after this themselves. There is very little fire, pilfering, or 
other irregularity, on a vessel where the officer personnel is 
strictly on the job in the interest of the ship. 

The regulations for the stowage of dangerous cargo should be 
strictly adhered to (see page 272). 

Fire Detectors 

A number of very satisfactory systems of fire detection have 
been devised. The systems may be divided as follows: 

Thermostatic alarms , carrying an alarm at the rise in tempera¬ 
ture. 

Smoke pipe lines , carrying smoke into a detecting cabinet. 

The first system may operate in a number of ways. The 
Mount Thermostatic Wire System carries an alarm to any 
point or points desired, the cargo and other compartments being 
wired and connected to thermostats that complete the alarm 
circuits at any desired rise in temperature. 


752 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Aero Automatic Fire Alarm consists of a small tube 
extending around the mouldings of passageways and staterooms 
and in suitable corners of the holds where it will be protected 
from damage by cargo. A rise in temperature expands the air 
in the tubes leading to a detection cabinet. A diaphragm is 
moved by the expanded air, a circuit is closed and a bell rings, 
etc. 

In both of the above systems the hold or compartment must 
also be piped with the usual smothering lines for the admission 
of steam, or C 0 2 gas. 

In the second system a series of air pipes lead from smoke 
collectors in the holds to a detection cabinet in the wheelhouse. 
These pipes are constantly being exhausted by a small fan. A 
wisp of smoke is easily seen, or if the exhaust is in a closed 
wheelhouse the smell of smoke is noticeable. 

This is a very sensitive system. It takes about five minutes 
for the smoke to come from the farthest hold to the bridge on a 
vessel of average size. 

As smoke is usually formed some time before the temperature 
rises to an appreciable extent, this system has much to recom¬ 
mend it. 

It has an added advantage in that the smoke detecting lines 
are also available for carrying steam or C 0 2 gas into the holds. 

This is the Rich System , and the makers claim it has the 
further advantage of enabling the state of a hold to be deter¬ 
mined by stopping the steam, or gas, and trying for smoke. If 
the fire is still going evidence is soon forthcoming. If out no 
smoke will appear and it is reasonably safe to open up hatches if 
necessary. 

Automatic sprinklers are being fitted in many ships. In order 
to avoid freezing in cold weather, the dry pipe system is used. 
This is, the pipes are filled with air under pressure and when this 
is released by the melting of the releasing links of the sprinkler 
heads, water rushes through the pipes to the seat of the fire. 

This system may be adopted to the distribution of C 0 2 gas, 
either liquid or under pressure. 

The Lux System carries the liquid gas to the discharging head 
where it vaporizes. The distribution of the pipes is shown in the 
sketch. The pipes may be as small as V2" in diameter. The 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


753 


liquid gas is immediately brought to the nozzle by the pressure 
of the containers. Immediately upon its release it vaporizes, 
causing a drop in the temperature of the room in which it is 
released. 

A very interesting pamphlet is issued by the Department of 
Commerce detailing the Proceedings of a Conference on Auto¬ 
matic Sprinklers on Vessels held at the Department in May, 
1916 . This can be had by addressing the Department. 



Lux Fire extinguishing system. 


The Grinnell Automatic Sprinkler is designed for shipboard 
use so that no matter what happens to a sprinkler head no water 
will be discharged on the cargo unless the pipe line has first been 
filled through a separate thermostatic control. That is, in the 
event of a fire a thermostatic control fills the pipes, and then the 
sprinkler heads work in the usual way, those near the fire opening 
up and discharging on the flames. 


Carbon Dioxide 


Carbon dioxide is not dangerous to life except that it asphyxi¬ 
ates from lack of air. It is not an explosive gas. Its presence 
can be determined by lowering a candle into the area where it is 
supposed to be. If the candle goes out, it is not safe for a person 
to breathe the air. Carbon dioxide is perfectly stable, and can 
be kept indefinitely without changing its properties. A man can 
live for a limited time in an atmosphere containing 10 to 15 per 
cent. It does not require 100 per cent to extinguish a fire. 









































754 


[STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


At 30 to 40 per cent the fire will go out. It is not injurious to 
merchandise. One of the 20-pound cylinders, which are about 
4 feet high and 8 inches in diameter, would take care of at least 
320 cubic feet of air, and probably as much as 400 to 500 feet, 
and a 50-pound cylinder would take care of not less than 800 
cubic feet of air, and probably 1,000 to 1,200 cubic feet. 

Floating Oil 

In many ports the danger from floating oil is often serious, 
and great care should be taken not to discharge oil over the side. 
When much oil is noted on the water have all combustible 
material kept away from the ship’s side. Have fire hoses handy. 
Look out for awnings, tarpaulins, etc. Recently oil was pumped 
overboard from the S. S. Lordship Manor lying in Stockholm, a 
spark set it on fire and the flames spread to a sailing vessel 
called the Advance , causing thirty thousand dollars worth of 
damage before they could be put out. 

Warning 

At present many vessels carry the handy tetrachloride fire 
extinguishers. Use great caution in discharging these while 
confined in a small state room or compartment. The fumes are 
about as powerful in extinguishing the life of man as they are in 
putting out a fire. Two men were recently killed in the Ports¬ 
mouth Navy Yard when they attempted to put out a fire in a 
submarine, using this handy extinguisher. 

Generally a fire aboard ship originates in the coal bunkers 
and may keep on going for weeks at a time. The writer recalls 
such a fire starting a few days out of St. Lucia and continuing 
for some six weeks well up into the Pacific. The decks during 
that time were so hot that planks were scorched. 

Fire in a wooden ship may also be a long dragged out affair. 
Often crews abandon ships on the strength of thick smoke, or a 
harmless explosion. This was supposed to have been the cause 
of the abandonment of the brig Marie Celeste , found afloat with 
her hatches off, a fowl roasting in the galley, and all hands gone, 
the ship sailing along in fine weather with no one on board. 

The following experience of the wooden ship Twin Brothers 
shows the endurance of even a wooden craft when a coal fire 
starts. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


755 


The Twin Brothers , engaged some years ago is the wheat 
trade between San Francisco and Liverpool. The vessel was 
returning from the latter port with a thousand tons of coal in the 
hold as ballast. Just after she rounded Cape Horn it was dis¬ 
covered that the coal was on fire. 

There was a steam pump on board, and after closing the lower 
hatches the crew flooded the hold until the ship had settled 
about four feet lower in the water. No one was frightened and 
every one was confident that the ship would be safely brought 
into port at San Francisco. Call was made at Valparaiso, but 
not a man deserted the ship. 

The vessel was seventy-two days in reaching San Francisco 
from the Horn, and all that time the coal burned, and little 
streams of smoke could be seen coming through the cracks in 
the deck. Arriving at San Francisco the Twin Brothers sailed 
out on the mud flats and was flooded until she settled almost 
even with her upper deck. This extinguished the fire. 

The appearance of the vessel after all this was pretty fair 
evidence what a ship may survive in the way of fire damage. 
In a dozen places the bottom had burned through, and all that 
was between the crew and the deep sea was the thin sheet of 
copper bottom. The weight of the coal and the pressure of the 
water kept about equal strain on both sides of the copper sheath¬ 
ing, and it had not broken through, although it was little thicker 
than an ordinary tin pan. 

Sulphur Fires 

Statement of Capt, Arthur N. McGray before Commerce Dept . 

Conference on Fire at Sea, Washington, May 3,1918. 

“A number of fires occurred in the bulk sulphur cargoes of the 
steamers Herman, Frasch , and Frieda during my command of 
those ships. Theoretically, the best means of extinguishing a 
sulphur fire is for a shovel brigade to heap on more sulphur and 
smother the fire. This plan, however, works poorly in practice, 
as it is impossible to know exactly what is happening underneath, 
and the confinement of the gases, which generate very rapidly 
when sulphur begins to fuse, presents an explosive menace 
which it were well to avoid. I have used steam jets from the 
standard fire-smothering equipment of the ship on several occa¬ 
sions, but to little or no purpose. The liberal use of water has 
been the only adequate answer I have discovered so far, but on 
two occasions this involved entering a hold filled with strong 


756 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


sulphurous fumes in order to direct the hose effectively. The 
risk to be incurred appeared greater than I felt justified in order¬ 
ing officers or crew to accept, so the only road open was to 
personally handle both hose and nozzle. I was impressed at 
this time with the fact that it was not my ship itself which was 
burning or which was in imminent danger, but that it was the 
cargo within the vessel.” 

In conclusion it may be said that the best fire risks at sea today 
are the Diesel motor ships, burning heavy low flash oil, in 
cylinders where the flames can do no harm and where high 
pressure and temperature is needed to set off the charge. Such 
vessels are far safer than coal burners. 

Smoke helmets are carried by many vessels. Practice in the 
use of the apparatus is very desirable. Such helmets, as gas 
masks are often very useful when ammonia or other fumes get 
loose about the holds or compartments. This sort of apparatus 
should be carefully looked after by the chief mate. 

XVII 

Ship’s Business 

Salvage . Salvage is to the merchant seaman what prize 
money is to the naval seaman (unfortunately for the American 
naval seaman it is, “ was ”). Here the possibility of a tidy sum, 
even a fortune, always stands before him off somewhere in the 
mystery and adventure that lies ahead. To quote from “Hughes 
On Admiralty.” 

“ The right of salvage depends on no contract. A salvor who 
rescues valuable ships or cargoes from the grasp of wind and 
wave, the embrace of rocky ledges or the devouring flame, need 
prove no bargain with its owner as the basis of recovering a 
reward. 

“He is paid by the courts from motives of public policy — 
paid not merely for the value of his time and labor in the special 
case, but a bounty in addition, so that he may be encouraged to 
do the like again .” 

And while quoting from Hughes, it may be just as well to 
strongly recommend this standard work on Admiralty to all 
seamen, deck and engineers. It is a book on the law of admir- 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


757 


alty so clearly written and so filled with useful information that 
no seafarer should fail to own it and study it. Hughes goes into 
the law and adjusting of salvage awards which need not trouble 
us here. We merely bring up the question of salvage to further 
impress upon the mind of the seaman the valuable side of sea¬ 
manship, of ship handling, and of a clear knowledge of the forces 
and materials of his ancient profession. 

Salvage operations are also those in which wrecked property 
is recovered. The Master, at least, should have a definite idea 
of how vessels are salvaged. Of the limits to which a diver can 
work, of the pumps, cranes, floats, cofferdams, and the like that 
may be employed to float and recover ships and cargoes. 

Data for the Master 

In Case of Disaster . 1 . Take all necessary measures for 

relief, recovery and preservation of property. 

2 . Advise owners at once by cable. 

3. Cut down all unnecessary expense. 

Forced Sale . The immedate sale of wrecked or damaged 
property, without orders from owners, is only legal or justifiable, 
if destruction is impending for the vessel from perils beyond the 
control of the master and which tend to increase quickly from 
lapse of time. 

If a vessel is on the rocks, bilged, full of water, exposed to the 
waves so that she is almost certain to break up from hour to 
hour, the master may act on his own responsibility. 

If the cargo is in danger of rotting, or when a refrigerator plant 
breaks down—then a prompt sale may be the only method of 
saving anything. 

Expense to Save Insured Property. It is a grave error on 
the part of a master to neglect to save property known to be 
insured, even when the attempt to do so will cost some money, 
under the mistaken idea that such expense will not be recover¬ 
able in case of failure. 

The master, acting as agent for the assured, is empowered to 
do all he can for the preservation of the property in his charge, 
and the underwriters are bound to pay their portion of the ex¬ 
pense whether the property be saved or not. 

Repairs in Port . As soon as a vessel has been relieved of 


758 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


immediate danger, she must be repaired as speedily and as 
economically as possible. 

When repairs may not be made: 

If absolutely beyond repair. 

If the estimated cost of the repairs, at the place, and under the 
circumstances, would in gross exceed her value after repairs. 

Repairs at Sea. Loss or injury of spars, sails, rigging, rudder, 
etc., should be made good at sea by experienced seamen. Such 
jury rigs may often serve until a vessel arrives at a home port, 
or a port where repairs can be economically made. Spare gear, 
spars, wire blocks, etc., should always be carried. Masters and 
engineers effecting repairs at sea find favor with the under¬ 
writers. 

Responsibility of Master. The master is the responsible man¬ 
ager in a port of distress, as in all other circumstances and 
places. He cannot be relieved of this responsibility so long as 
he is competent to attend to business. 

In all cases the master should enter a protest before the 
American Consul, who will appoint a committee of three to 
assist and advise the master. One member of the committee 
will be the local representative of the American Bureau of 
Shipping. 

The powers of the committee are limited to giving advice. 
It remains for the master to decide whether he will follow their 
advice. If he follows bad advice, a total loss to his owners or 
underwriters may ensue, or at any rate an enormous average may 
be incurred. 

The master must remember that no underwriter, agent, sur¬ 
veyor, or consignee, has the right to order him to take any 
measure at all. Only his owner has that right. Others can 
only recommend. 

The following hints may be useful. 

Energetic Action. Take energetic action immediately on 
getting into trouble to get out of it as quickly as possible, though 
it involves sacrifice of anchors, masts, deck load or jettison of 
cargo. If ashore, on a falling tide, very prompt measures in 
dropping weight may be necessary. 

Salvage Agreements. Have salvage agreements in writing, 
if possible. 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


759 


Discharge of Cargo at Port of Disaster. Cargoes should not 
be discharged at a port of disaster without the clearest necessity. 

Surveys. The master should see that reports of surveys 
distinguish between repairs attributable to the perils insured 
against, and other repairs due to wear and tear, or to original 
defects, natural decay or depreciation of the vessel. This will 
enable the average adjusters to make a correct statement. 

Disbursements. The master should see that disbursements 
are charged to their correct uses such as, salvage expense, 
general average expense, and repairs. Particular average 
expenses and repairs, and special charges for items that do not 
come under any of these heads. 

These divisions of expenditure should be kept carefully dis¬ 
tinct, especially when repairs are undertaken by contract. In 
this care the contractor should be required to apportion the total 
into the above division coming under his work. This will help 
in the preparation of the average statement. 

The particulars of expenditure cannot be too complete. 

Give the fullest passible information. 

Funds. A master may obtain funds as follows: 

A. By draft on his owners. 

B. By a bottomry bond on ship and freight. 

C. If absolutely necessary by a bottomry on respondentia bond 

on ship, freight and cargo. 

D. By the sale of a portion of the cargo. Cargo should be sold 

as follows: 

1 st. Any damaged goods condemned by the surveyor as unfit to 
go forward and recommended by them to be sold. 

2 d. Cargo that will bring the highest price at the port of distress, 
compared with its value at the port of destination. 

E. If the ship be condemned and the cargo forwarded by another 

vessel, the master can give a respondentia bond on the 
cargo alone, but only for that portion of the whole expense 
for which the cargo alone is responsible. In this case 
the sale of the vessel will supply funds for her proportion 
of the expense. 

Ship’s Papers 

To round out the preceding sections it may be well to briefly 
indicate the kind and nature of the documents carried by a 


760 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


merchant vessel. A book on seamanship is not the place to go 
into the matter of ship business fully. The reader is advised to 
consult Hughes on Admiralty , referred to above. Ocean 
Shipping, by Annin, Handbook for Masters by La Boyteaux, 
Marine Insurance by Huebner , and the writers The Men on 
Deck. These books cover the law, the method of doing ship’s 
business and the regulations and responsibilities of the master. 

The Ship's Papers are— 

The Register —her evidence of nationality. Gives name of 
master, and all necessary data as to home port, size, owners, 
etc. 

Certificate of Classification carried by vessels complying with 
the requirements of the American Bureau of Shipping. 
The continuance of classification of any vessel is conditional 
upon full compliance with the rules. 

Periodical surveys must be carried out every four years 
and special surveys whenever required. 

To maintain class a surveyor must be called whenever 
vessel is dry docked, caulked, or repaired. In case of dam¬ 
age at any time vessel must be surveyed. Violation of any 
condition of the rules renders class void. See page 36. 
Certificate of Freeboard shows the assigned position of the load 
line disc which must be permanently marked, the particulars 
given in the Certificate must be entered in the Official Log 
and the Certificate of Freeboard must be framed and placed 
in a conspicuous place. This is also issued by the American 
Bureau of Shipping. 

Certificate of Inspection is issued by the U. S. Steamboat 
Inspection Service and states that the Inspectors approve 
the vessel and her equipment throughout. It also must be 
framed and placed in a conspicuous place. 

Tonnage Certificate for Panama and Suez Canals. 

A Seaworthy Certificate is issued by a Classification Surveyer 
and attests the good condition of the vessel. See page 766 . 
Sea Letter. A document issued to unregistered vessels owned 
by citizens of the United States and issued by the Customs 
authorities. It certifies to the nationality and ownership of 
the vessel. 

The Articles of Agreement —these recount the voyage and its 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


761 


duration. The names and ratings of all members of the 
crew and their compensation, and the time of the commence¬ 
ment of their service. The Crew List is a separate paper. 

Clearance —the official permission to sail from her port of de¬ 
parture. Shows that all port dues and charges have been 
paid, port of destination, etc. 

Bill of Health —shows condition of the health of all on board, 
port of destination, etc. Bill of health, in duplicate, should 
be obtained from U. S. Consuls abroad. 

Charter Party —contract between owner of vessel and charterer, 
or shipper. Carried where the vessel is under charter. 

Manifest —a detailed account of the cargo on board, names of 
the consignee, consignor, ports of loading and discharging 
same, marks, etc. 

Bills of Lading —the bill, signed by the master, or owner, or 
agent, receipting for the lading of the goods on board ship, 
in good condition. It promises to deliver them safely at 
the place agreed upon, perils of the sea, excepted. 

Passenger List —contains names and destination of passengers. 
A part of manifest. 

Stores List —contains detailed account of ship’s stores must be 
complete when entering port, showing all unbroken and 
broken stores. 

Invoice. This document must contain a detailed account of the 
cargo, stating the number of packages, value, charges, 
freight, insurance, marks and numbers. Also the name of 
the vessel, her master, port of destination and name of 
consignee. 

The Log —gives history of the voyage to date. A log that is not 
written up each watch is useless. The smooth log is a copy 
of the rough log. The latter is the original and valuable 
record. The Official Log is supplied by the Government. 
See page 766. 

Ship’s Business Definitions 

Charter Party. A mercantile lease of a vessel; a specific 

contract by which the owners of a vessel let the entire vessel to 

another person, to be used by him for transportation for his own 

account, either under their charge or his. When the vessel 


762 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


remains in charge of the owners it constitutes a Contract of 
Affreightment. 

Time Charter . The owner hires his ship out for a definite time 
and usually supplies crew, coal and stores. 

Voyage Charter . The owner hires his ship out for a definite 
trip, as, for example, a single trip between two points or a round 
trip between two ports with intermediate stops in both or one 
direction. Owner furnishes Crew, coal and stores. 

Tonnage Charter. Charterer pays a certain rate per regis¬ 
tered ton, or per ton dead weight capacity. 

Bare Boat or Bare Pole Charter . Charterer furnishes crew, 
coal and stores. Partial bare boat charter sometimes occurs 
wherein charterer agrees to the owner furnishing the crew, in 
which case the latter is also responsible for their welfare. 

Lump Sum Charters. The Charterer pays a lump sum fixed 
price for the ship; the owner gets his money whether cargo is 
put on board or not. 

Contract of Affreightment. When a vessel is operated by 
her owners on their own account, or contracts directly with her 
shippers. 

Lay Days. The days allowed by the Charter party for loading 
or unloading a vessel. Beyond that time it involves the payment 
of demurrage. 

Demurrage. Is the compensation to be paid for the detention 
of a vessel beyond the time provided for in the Charter Party, 
and must be claimed daily. The owner of a vessel has no claim 
on the cargo for demurrage unless so stated in the bill of lading, 
and therefore it is important that this clause should be inserted. 
Where there are both charter party and bill of lading the former 
should be endorsed as follows: “Paying freight and other charges 
as per charter party, with all conditions therein.” Demurrage 
claims cease when all the cargo is out of the vessel. 

Protest. Or “ Writ of Protest ” as it is often termed, is a 
declaration made by the master of a vessel before a Notary, or 
Consul if in a foreign port, within twenty four hours after the 
arrival of the vessel in port after the disaster stating that he 
anticipates that the ship or cargo or both are damaged, and that 
the same was not due to any fault of the vessel, her officers, or 
crew, but to the perils of the sea, and protesting against them. 




HANDLING A STEAMER 


763 


It must be signed by the master and some member of the crew. 
Afterward it may be extended to show particulars of storms, etc., 
that caused the damage. The log book should support the state¬ 
ments made in the protest. 

After noting a protest, a survey of the ship and cargo must be 
made before breaking bulk and to begin by opening hatches. 
Where merchants are acting as surveyors, they should submit 
some evidence to the Master that they are not in any way inter¬ 
ested in the cargo. 

To prevent any claim on the ship for damage by water, the 
Surveyors must certify that the hatches were properly secured, 
the cargo properly dunnaged; and to make a claim on the 
underwriters, or enable the Consignor to make such a claim, the 
surveyors must certify that the cargo is damaged by sea water. 

Copy of the protest should be sent to the owners of the vessel. 

General Average . Is the principle of law which requires that 
the parties interested in a marine venture shall contribute to 
make up the loss of the sufferer when there is a voluntary sacri¬ 
fice of part of the venture, made by the Master or representative 
of all concerned, for the benefit of all. 

To give the right to claim a general average contribution, the 
sacrifice 

(a) Must be voluntary. 

(b) Must be made by the master or by his authority. 

(c) Must not be caused by any fault of the party asking the 
contribution. 

(d) Must be successful. 

(e) Must be necessary. 

York-Antwerp rules relating to the settlement of cases of 
general averages are usually adopted, but such must be speci¬ 
fically stated in Bills of Lading or Charter Parties. 

It is called General Average because it falls upon the gross 
amount of ship, cargo and freight at risk and saved by sacrifice. 

Some evidence should be produced to show that the sacrifice 
was necessary and such should be supported by entries in the 
Log Book. 

The ship may hold the cargo until General Average Claim is 
satisfied but care must be exercised that cargo so held is not 
of a perishable nature and the ship be later responsible for its 
destruction through such detention. 


764 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Particular Average. Signifies the damage or partial loss 
happening to the ship, or cargo, or freight in consequence of 
some fortuous or unavoidable accident; and it is borne by the 
individual owners of the articles damaged, or by their insurers. 

Petty Averages. A term now seldom heard. Are small 
sundry charges which occur regularly and are necessarily de¬ 
frayed by the master in the usual course of the voyage such as 
port charges, common pilotage and the like which were formerly 
and in many cases still are borne by the ship and partly by the 
cargo. In the clause commonly found in a Bill of Lading (prim¬ 
age and average accustomed) average means a kind of composi¬ 
tion established by usage for such charges, which were formerly 
assessed by way of average. 

Mortgage. A mortgage is a transaction whereby the ship is 
given as security for money advanced to the owner and he may 
spend it in any manner he sees fit. 

Bottomry Bond. A contract in the nature of a mortgage, by 
which the owner of a ship or the master, as his agent, hypothe¬ 
cates and binds the ship (and sometimes) freight as security for 
the repayment of money advanced or lent for the use of the ship, 
if she terminate her voyage successfully. 

If the ship is lost by the perils of the sea, the lender loses the 
money, but if the ship arrives safe, he is to receive the money 
lent, with the interest and premium stipulated, although it may 
be, and usually is, in excess of the legal rates of interest. 

Respondentia Bond. When sufficient money cannot be 
borrowed on the ship and freight the cargo is given as security. 
This should never be resorted to if it is at all possible to avoid it. 
The contract is the same as bottomry but has priorty to such in 
claims. 

Freight. The word “ Freight ” is sometimes used as a term 
meaning cargo. It is the amount agreed upon in payment for 
the transportation of cargo and should never be used in any other 
sense. The freight may be demanded before the cargo is de¬ 
livered to the consignee. It is generally paid when cargo is on 
board. 

Dead Freight. When the Charterer agrees to give the ship a 
full cargo and for any reason does not do so, he must also pay 
the freight on the quantity that will be required to finish the 


HANDLING A STEAMER 


765 


loading. After this payment (which must be collected at the 
port of loading) is made the ship must not take on any more 
cargo but proceed to her destination without any unnecessary 
delay, unless she is so loaded as not to be seaworthy. However, 
it might be advantageous to the ship to make slight concession 
to the charterer to free the ship from all responsibility for delay 
caused by completing the cargo with goods from another party, 
and even another port. 

Pratique. A certificate given after compliance with quaran¬ 
tine regulations permitting a ship to land her passengers and 
crew. 

No member of the crew or any passenger must leave the 
ship and no person must be allowed to board her, except the 
pilot; until the health authorities have boarded her and given 
permission, which they will do if the ship has a clean bill of 
Health. 

In ports that are infected with infectious diseases no member of 
the crew should be permitted to go ashore and natives should 
not be allowed on board, except on business concerning the 
ship. Every reasonable care must be taken to safeguard the 
crew from infectious or contagious diseases. 

Port Charges and General Expenses. Pilotage, tonnage, 
provisions, water, harbor and hospital dues, cost of labor for 
discharging and loading, wharfage, cost of coal and other ex¬ 
penses to which a ship is liable to be subjected. 

A ship should never be chartered for a port of which the 
master and owner have no knowledge until further information 
of the place has been obtained. It is important to know if the 
port affords a safe harbor, or is an open roadstead, the depth of 
the water and the harbor regulations. 

Where ship must call at two ports in the tropics, whether the 
first port is to windward or to leeward, should be considered. 

Vouchers. All receipts for money expended, should clearly 
state the purpose for which such expenditures were made. 

Marine Insurance is insurance against risks connected with 
navigation,.to which a ship, cargo, freight or other insurable 
interest in such property may be exposed during a certain voyage 
or fixed period of time. 

The written contract of insurance is called a policy. 


766 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Insurable Interest. The party affecting marine insurance 
must be so situated with regard to the thing insured as to expect 
pecuniary benefit from its safety of pecuniary loss from its 
destruction. 

Contracts of marine insurance are subject to certain condi¬ 
tions, express or implied, a breach of which voids the contract. 

Misrepresentation and concealment of any material fact, or 
any breach of warranty of any fact, will void the policy. 

Seaworthiness. It is an implied condition of marine insurance 
of a vessel, cargo, freight, that the vessel shall be seaworthy. 
She must be sufficiently tight, staunch and strong to resist the 
ordinary attacks of wind and sea during the voyage for which 
she is insured, and that she must be properly stowed, manned 
and equipped for the voyage.—This is often slated in a Sea¬ 
worthy Certificate signed by an authorized surveyer. Proper 
stowage may be attested by a Loading Certificate. 

Deviation. It is an implied condition of a voyage policy that 
the vessel will take the course of sailing fixed by commercial 
custom between two ports, or if none is fixed, that it will take the 
course that a master of ordinary skill would adopt. Any de¬ 
parture from such course, or unreasonable delay in pursuing the 
voyage, constitutes what is known as “ deviation.” 

Illegal Traffic. It is an implied condition that a vessel shall 
not engage in illegal traffic (trade). 

Perils of the Seas. Mean all losses or damage which arise 
from the extra ordinary action of the wind and sea, or from extra¬ 
ordinary causes external to the ship, and originating on navigable 
waters. 

Official Log Book. This book is supplied to masters by the 
U. S. Shipping Commissioners and in it must be recorded all 
events of importance. The list of the crew, deaths, births, 
marriages, collisions, offences, fines and punishments, sending a 
passenger or a member of the crew to the hospital, etc., are im¬ 
portant matters and must be recorded. 

Certain spaces are arranged in the book for keeping account of 
any dealing seamen may have with the ship. The book con¬ 
tains full instructions for its use and is to be handed to the U. S. 
Shipping Commissioner on arrival in port and is used by him in 
paying off the crew and preparing their discharges. 




HANDLING A STEAMER 


767 


Precautions. Never sign a receipt for cargo until its condition 
is known, and, if not in proper condition, state the facts to the 
person delivering the goods, and, if he wishes to leave them, 
state the incompleteness, damage, breakage, leakage, shortage 
or any other fault, on the receipt, in ink, before signing the same. 

Never sign any paper or bill until its contents are known and 
thoroughly understood. 

If in doubt about the signing of any paper, postpone it and 
think it over or consult some reliable person from whom informa¬ 
tion on your subject may be obtained. 

Before signing any paper written in a foreign language, insist 
on having a true certified copy of the same in some language 
you understand. 

Before starting on a voygage the Master should have a con¬ 
ference with the managing owner, or director, covering all 
possible points of the voyage. He should receive a letter of 
voyage instructions with all it contains clearly understood. 

Never permit any person to perform any service whatsoever for 
a ship unless some kind of an understanding or agreement has 
first been arranged. 

In Time of War 

A merchantman in time of war must be guided by certain 
recognized rules of international law. The right of search is 
accorded to a duly commissioned belligerant vessel of war which 
has the right to stop and search any merchant vessel. 

The right of approach is the right of any vessel of war to 
approach a merchant vessel on the high seas for purposes of 
observation and verification of character and flag. The mer¬ 
chantman need not heave to, and no force is used except where 
piracy, or slave trade, or other irregularity is suspected. Mer¬ 
chant vessels approached by a man of war should show their 
colors as a matter of courtesy. 

Blockades 

A neutral merchantman may be bound for a blockaded port 
and still not be held liable to violation of blockade if she has no 
knowledge of the blockade through same not having reached 
her port of departure before sailing. 


27 


CHAPTER 19 


HANDLING A SAILER 

I 

Foreward 

The writer believes that sailing is something to be mastered 
progressively. Small boat sailing should be part of all sea 
training. No finer sport exists than boat sailing and as yachts 
increase in size only the millionaire can enjoy the sport on his 
own. But even the most wealthy yachtsman falls short of sailing 
the great craft that merchant seamen take around the world. 
The sailor with the real salt under his hide never fails to thrill 
to this greatest of all sports; his business is something more than 
a mere occupation. 

While the art of handling a sailer is simple in the extreme, the 
amount of experience needed to master it is almost without 
limit, for new tricks come up every voyage. But all of the gear 
and the innumerable things that seem to be necessary to the 
handling of a sailer are based upon common sense. The young 
seaman, shipped in sail, (and every lad who can should go out 
under canvas) may gain a great deal of valuable experience in a 
short time by making a study of the work as he goes along. So 
many men, at sea under sail, drag at braces and halliards, pulling, 
like the ox, without thought or knowledge of the object of their 
toil. 

The fundamental principles of sailing have been set forth in 
the chapter on boat sailing, and need not be repeated here. 
The main evolutions under sail will be given. 

A vessel under sail has free movement through an arc of the 
horizon extending six points each side of the wind, in the case 
of a square rigger and four points in the case of a fore and after.* 

When the course to be made is anywhere within the restricted 
arc the vessel must sail close hauled, or, where the wind, in the 
case of a square rigger, is just six points away from the course 
to be made good, she may make her course by sailing on the 
wind. The terms used at sea for sailing on the wind, are close 

* Many square rigged craft can only lay 6 ] /i & 7 points to the wind. 

768 


HANDLING A SAILER 


769 


hauled, by the wind, full and by , and on the port (or starboard) 
tack. 

A square rigger on the wind has her yards braced up sharp, 
the lower yards braced in close against the swifters, and the 
tacks of the courses are hauled down on the weather side, 
stretching the foot of the sail forward, the sheets to leeward are 
hauled aft. 


Tacking 

A vessel tacks when she goes about from one tack to another. 

Tacking a full-rigged ship is quite an art. The procedure is 
as follows on a three-masted ship. And here the writer must 
apologize for quoting from his own book, Under Sail , in that way 
saving effort, and initiating the steamboat sailor into the mys¬ 
teries of going about on a two thousand five hundred dead weight 
vessel, flying skysails, and working twenty hands. Most of the 
textbooks on this subject are men-of-war style with a large crew. 

“ With livelier weather of the Southern latitudes we were often 
exercised in tacking and wearing ship, and soon became a very 
well drilled company, sending the big three-sticker about in 
record time. The Fuller was lively in stays* and with our small 
crew required the smartest kind of work in handling. 

“ With all hands, including the ‘ idlers,’ that is, the carpenter, 
cook and cabin steward, we mustered twenty men forward, 
hardly a man-o’-war complement, but enough, when driven and 
directed by superior seamanship, to send the long braces clicking 
through the sheaves of the patent blocks with a merry chatter. 

“ ‘ Hands about ship! ’ meant all hands, and the cook at the 
fore sheet , a time-honored station filled by the Celestial with all 
the importance in the world. It was all the work that Chow ever 
did on deck and the heathenish glee with which he would i let 
go ’ at the proper time, added a certain zest to our movements, 
particularly as we always hoped to have a sea come over and 
douse him, which often happened. 

“At the order, 4 Ready! Ready!’ the gear of the main and 
cro’jik was thrown down from the pins, clear for running. The 
command 4 Ease down the helm! ’ and the order * Spanker boom 
amidships! ’ would quickly follow, the vessel running rapidly 
into the eye of the wind with everything shaking, and then flat 
aback. 

44 4 Rise tacks and sheets! ’ and the hands at the clew garnets 
would sway up on the courses, lifting them clear of the bulwarks. 

* A vessel is “ in stays ” when in the act of going about. 


770 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Board Tacks, 
Haul aft sheets ■ 
right helm, 
trim yards. 


When wind is a point \ 
on new weather bow l 

Le+go and haul! . j 

(Swing head yards) J 


Wind 


Then all hands would jump like monkeys to the main and cro’jik 
braces, at the order, ‘Weather main, lee cro’jik braces!’ the 

Second Mate, and Chips, stand¬ 
ing by to cast off on the other 
sides. By then, the wind be¬ 
ing a point on the weather bow , 
would come the hearty warn¬ 
ing, ‘ Haul taut! ’ and ‘ Now, 
boys, mainsail haul! ’ and the 
after yards, aback, with the 
wind on their weather leeches, 
would spin about, the gear run¬ 
ning through the blocks like 
snakes afire, the men on deck 
pawing it in at the pins with 
feverish haste, belaying as the 
yards slammed back against 
the lee swifters on the other 
tack. 

“ By that time the ship would 
be practically about, with head 
yards and head sails aiding in 
the work. As soon as the wind 
was on the bow, all hands would 
spring to the lee fore braces. 
‘ Haul taut— let go and haul !’ 
thundered the order from aft. 
Chow would let out a wild yell 
as he unhitched the fore sheet, 
and around would go the head 
yards. Then with jib sheets 
shifted over and the spanker 
eased off, as the tacks were 
boarded and the sheets hauled 
aft, we would pause to get our 


When wind presses \ 
on weather leeches I 
ofmainandmmen 1- r- 

Mainsail haul! 1 

( s wing after yards)' 


When sails shake, -- / 

Rise tacks and sheets! / 



Ready About! 

,Ease down helm; 
l haul jigger 
yamidship, 

A 



Tacking afourmast ship. 


breath amid the tangle of gear on deck. 

“ ‘ Steady out the bowlines—go below, watch below! ’ and 
as the watch below would leave the deck, the order ‘ Lay up 


the gear clear for running,’ was the signal for the crowd on deck 
to get busy while the good ship raced away on the new tack with 
the wind six points on the bow, a bone in her teeth, and a half 
Point of leeway showing in the wake.” 


Careful reading of the above will clarify the following: 
Ready about! Crew takes stations for going about. 




HANDLING A SAILER 


771 


Spanker sheet is ready to be manned, boom guys slacked off. 

Weather head sheets are hauled to windward over the stays. 

As ship gets a good way upon her, easing her off a half point 
or so if necessary, haul the spanker boom amidships slowly and 
ease down the helm bringing her sharply up into the eye of the 
wind by the combined action of the rudder and the spanker. At 
the same time, ease off the head sheets as she runs up. The 
vessel is now pivoting through the action of the wind and helm. 

At the order “ ready, ready,” the mainsail is hauled up just 
as it begins to shake. “ Rise tacks and sheets!” 

The head sails lie aback and aid in the turning and as the 
wind gets hold of the weather leeches of the main and mizzen 
canvas, the order is “ Mainsail haul! ” sending these yards 
around very rapidly and further easing the wind pressure aft 
that, if the yards are not swung at once, would tend to retard 
her turning into the eye of the wind. 

As the after yards spin around, largely by the force of the wind, 
the vessel is well up with the wind a point on her new weather 
bow. Then give the order “ Let go and haul! ” The fore sheet 
and tack are let go, and the men, having jumped to the head 
braces, swing around the head yards. The wind by that time 
fills them. Right the helm . The spanker is eased off, the head 
sheets are hauled home. Yards are trimmed, main tack boarded 
and sheet hauled aft, and she is off on the new tack. 

In tacking without the mainsail the order for swinging after 
yards is “ Main topsail haul! ” 

The time to right the helm in tacking depends upon how quick 
a vessel is in stays. If the helm is kept hard over after the wind 
has shifted on the new weather bow and the ship is swinging 
fast she may fall off some distance. If she should fall of too 
rapidly and bring the wind abeam, or even abaft the beam, ease 
off head sheets, put the helm a-lee y and as she comes up ease 
the helm and haul aft the head sheets. 

When a vessel loses way in tacking, right the helm * at once. 
In this case the after yards must not be hauled until the wind 
is directly ahead. 

A ship that is slow in stays may be sent about quicker by 
checking the lee fore brace as she comes up into the wind. If 

* Put it amidship. 


772 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


she gathers sternboard in coming about shift the helm at once, 
the head yards will then box her about. 

The writer has found it a good plan not to haul the head yards 
until the wind is at least a point on the new weather bow. If 
a vessel refuses to come around after the head yards have been 
swung, brail up the spanker and shiver the cross-jack yards 
(i.e., brace in and spill the wind). 

Missing Stays 

In this case either let her go around on her heel, that is wear 
ship , or let her fill and try again. In order to fill, it may be 
necessary to box her back with the head yards. Brace in on 
the weather braces, and let the head square sails box her off. 
The ship will have stern-board and the helm will have to be down. 

A vessel refusing to turn, after yards swung, forward yards 
on old tack is said to be in irons. This is practically the same 
as missing stays—wear, or box off on old tack. 

Before leaving the subject of tacking it may be well to indicate 
the station of a crew of twenty men on a large three-masted 
square rigger. 

Boatswain and two men on the forecastle head, carpenter and 
sailmaker at the main tack, one man at the weather cross-jack 
braces, seven men at the weather main braces, second mate at 
the lee main braces, three men at the lee cross-jack braces, two 
men at the main sheet, and one man and cook at the fore sheet. 

When it is “ Let go and haul? ” 

Three men on the forecastle, all others at the lee fore braces 
and foresheet. Second mate at the weather fore braces. Those 
on the forecastle board the fore tack. One man at helm. 

Four-masted ships, always bark rigged on the jiggermast, go 
about like a three master, handling the jigger like a spanker, and 
hanging the crossjack and mainsail in the gear at the order 
“ Rise tacks and sheets! ” See diagram, Page 770 . 

A five master, like the France , goes about swinging the three 
yards on the after square-rigged masts together. The fore 
yards “ Let go and haul ,” as in the case of a three master. 

Tacking a Barkentine 

Here the evolution is greatly simplified. 

Ready about! Stations for stays. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


773 




/Bowsprit 


Knight Heads— 


Forecastle, 
Capstan 


Forecastle Bitts 


Fore Varcf — . 


Fore --- 

Mast 


Port Fore 
Brace'' 


Forecastle Head 



Port Crojik 
Brace 


Crojik YardS 

Companion 

Wheel and Binnacle ---- 
Bumpkin-. 

Hatch to Lazarette 


'"'—Foreward House 
'-''Bilge Pumps 
..-Waist 
--•Main Hatch 
,--Main Mast 
fr—Main Fife Rail 

.---Main Channels 


Main Deck Capstan 
,-Break of Poop 

( 

_ Forward Cabin Skylight 

_ --Raised Poop 

-k- Miz-zen Mast 

------Mizzen Channels 

"-■After Cabin Skylight 

—Skylight 

- Quarter Bitts 

....Wheel House 


- Taff Rail 

Deck plan of a three mast ship. 




















































774 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Haul slack of weather fore stays’le sheets to windward. 

Clear main and mizzen gaff tops’les. 

Weather fore sheet out of beckets. 

Haul down light stays’les. 

Shift lazy tack of main topmast and other stays’le to windward. 

Ease down helm! Haul spanker boom amidship. 

Let go and haul! 

When around, down fore tack, aft fore sheet, trim all sheets. 

Tacking a Fore and After 

Here the trick is to have plenty of way upon her before easing 
down the helm, and hauling the spanker (or after sail) amidship. 
Ease off the fore sheet as the sail stops driving her and ease off 
the head sheets, having previously hauled the weather pendants 
over the stays. Where clubs are fitted nothing need be done. 
A club staysail however is useful in paying off a vessel when she 
gets in irons and will not go about readily. This is explained 
under boat handling. 

Most well-designed and properly rigged schooners go about 
without trouble except in heavy seas, or very light weather. 

A schooner has two points less to move through before getting 
into the wind and this is a considerable advantage. 

On large yachts the main mast is stayed by a runner, and the 
weather runner is always hauled taut by a purchase. In going 
about, when the vessel is head to wind, slack off weather runner 
on old tack and haul taut weather runner on new tack. This 
must be done very smartly on a big yacht in fresh weather. 

To head-reach is to forge ahead in stays. 

Wearing 

Wearing is going about by turning away from the wind and 
then coming up into the wind again on the other tack. It is 
often resorted to when a large ship goes about with only one 
watch on deck, or under heavy weather conditions when not 
enough sail is carried to permit of tacking. Heavy seas may 
make wearing necessary. Lack of wind may also make it 
necessary to wear. 

Wearing a square rigger is simple. The spanker must be 


HANDLING A SAILER 


775 


brailed in, and as she falls off before the wind the after yards 
are braced in and around on the other tack. 

The method of wearing a ship-rigged vessel is as follows— 
always having in mind the fact that sails should not be put aback, 
deadening her way. 

Haul mainsail up, brail in the spanker, luff ship up until the 
weather leeches of the topsails shake; then hard up the helm, 
and brace the after yards in. Keep the sails shaking as she 
pays off, so that they may be well canted for the other tack by 
the time the wind is on the quarter. When the wind is abaft 
the beam, raise fore tack, and shift the head sheets over as soon 
as they are becalmed. The head yards being nearly becalmed, 
square them all the weather braces being slacked off roundly as 
the ship comes-to. Gather in the main and cross-jack braces 
while the head yards are being braced and fore-tack got down. 
In wearing under small sail in a ship that answers her weather 
helm slowly, take care that the maintopsail is not shaken until 
the ship begins to pay off. 

Have in mind the danger of coming to the wind or flying-to so 
rapidly that the fore square sail may be put aback, and if she is 
lively brace sharp forward as soon as possible after the main and 
crossjack yards are braced up. 

If blowing hard, brace up the fore yards while the vessel is 
still before the wind. 

To Wear Short Round or Box Haul a Ship 

Put the helm down, light up head sheets, and slack lee braces, 
to deaden her way. As she comes to the wind, raise tacks and 
sheets, and haul up the mainsail and the spanker. As soon as 
she comes head to the wind, and loses her head-way, square the 
after yards, brace the head yeards sharp aback, and flatten in the 
head sheet. The helm being put down to bring her up will now 
pay her off, as she has stern-way on. As she goes off, keep the 
after sails lifting, and square in the head yards. As soon as the 
sails on the foremast give her head-way, shift the helm. When 
she gets the wind on the other quarter, haul down the jib, haul 
out the spanker, set the mainsail, and brace the after yards 
sharp up. As she comes-to on the other tack, brace up the 
head yards, meet her with the helm, and set the jib. 


776 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Wearing a Fore and After 

A schooner is put about by wearing when the wind is too light 
to admit of tacking, or where the sea is so high that she cannot 
come up to it and go about. 

On a large schooner, say a five or six master, the sails go over 
in wearing in the following order, all booms being carefully 
steadied by sheets and boom tackles. As she pays off before 
the wind, haul over the boom next forward from the spanker, 
and then each succeeding boom forward. When the foresail 
is over on the new tack, steady the spanker amidship and ease 
it over with the boom tackle as the wind gybes the sail. The 
gear is heavy and rubber, or spring, buffers are now fitted to 
take up the shock on the sheet traveller. Watch out for heads, 
and mind the helm. 

Before wearing the topsails are shifted over the stays. 

Wearing is always a losing proposition, for this reason a 
square rigger often shivers her sails to lose some way before 
turning on her heel, but when she once starts turning the proper 
thing is to keep her going around fast. In a schooner the great 
size and swing of the sails makes the maneuver dangerous unless 
carried out by experienced seamen. 

Square Foresail 

Before going into heavy weather with our chapter on sailing, 
and before leaving the schooner, mention should be made of the 
square sail generally fitted on large fore and afters. This sail 
is a fair weather kite and is set from a stationary yard supported 
by standing lifts and parral, and controlled by braces in the 
usual way. The square foresail, however, is set by means of 
head outhauls bent to the head earings and leading out to the 
yardarms. The head of the sail is stopped to hoops that slide 
along the yard. Amidship from the yard to the deck is a stout 
wire jackstay (usually four inch wire). The sail, in two parts, 
port and starboard, is laced to this and brails in and stows 
against the jackstay. 

The sail is only used with the wind well aft, sheets are rove, 
and use is made of a midship tack. 

Sailing with wind aft and booms guyed out to port and star¬ 
board, is called going wing and wing. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


777 


Wearing in Heavy Weather 

Ship under lower topsails and fore topmast staysail. Put the 
helm up, and, as the vessel goes off, square the after-yards, and 
keep them just lifting. When before the wind, brace round the 
fore-yard for the other tack, but not sharp up, and put the stay- 
sail-sheet over. Brace up the after yards and meet her with the 
helm. Trim yards and stand on. 

Ship under lower main topsail (hove to). Put up the helm 
and as the vessel goes off square the after yards keeping them 
lifting. When the wind is aft, brace around the head yards on 
the new tack, but not sharp up. Shift the staysail sheet, brace 
up the after yards, and meet her with the helm. Brace up for¬ 
ward, trim yards. 

Ship under Bare Poles. Vessels well down by the stern will 
often wear in this situation by merely pointing the after yards to 
the wind and filling the head yards; but vessels in good trim 
will not do this. To assist the vessel around, veer a hawser out 
of the lee quarter, with a drag attached to the end. As the ship 
sags off to leeward the drag will be to windward, and will tend 
to bring the stern round to the wind. When she is before it haul 
the hawser aboard; be sure to fit a tripping line. If the vessel 
will not go off, it will be necessary, as a last resort, to cut away 
the mizzenmast, veer away the hawser, and use the mizzen- 
topmast as a drag to assist in wearing. Be sure to cut lee 
rigging first, and attach a second hawser before cutting weather 
shrouds and stays. These instructions assume your vessel is 
in a critical situation and must wear. 

Always, in wearing during very heavy weather, use oil from the 
quarters and from the closet pipes forward. 

When blowing very hard do not attempt to shift over a storm 
staysail in the usual fashion. Always haul down, shift over the 
sheet, steady it aft and then hoist, tending the sheet so the sail 
will not bind on the stay. To shift over as in moderate weather 
will cost you the sail. 

To Club Haul off a Lee Shore 

Cock-bill the lee anchor, get a hawser on this for a spring and 
lead it to the lee quarter; range the cable and unshackle it abaft 


778 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


the windlass. Helm's a-lee! and Raise tacks and sheets! as for 
going in stays. The moment she loses head-way, let go the 
anchor and Mainsail haul! As soon as the anchor brings her 
head to the wind, let the chain cable go, holding on to the spring; 
and when the after sails take full, cast off or cut the spring, and 
Let go and haul! 

This is far more difficult than it reads, but many a fine ship 
has been saved through club hauling, and many have been lost 
because, for some reason, the maneuver was not tried. 

II 

Heavy Weather Sailing 
Heaving to 

A sailing craft lies best with her bow toward the sea, the 
wind a point or so forward of the beam. Having no engines to 
drive her into the sea, she takes an easy position and, if stowed 
properly and handled in a seamanlike way, will ride out the 
worst kind of weather. The balance of forward and after sail 
will effect her helm. A ship usually lies easiest with weather 
helm. She will gradually come up and fall off as these forces 
oppose each other. The use of oil is always advisable as shown 
in the previous chapter. 

The trimming of yards is very important in lying to. The 
forward and after yards should be pointed almost into the wind 
pressure on after sides. Main yards may be braced up a point 
higher. 

The preparation for heavy weather is as follows: 

Preventer topsail sheets on upper topsails. 

Preventer braces on crossjack, leading aft to bumpkins, or 
quarter bitts. 

Rolling tackles (heavy watch tackles) from the quarters of 
yards (hooked to stout end straps) and led to straps about the 
masts. Set up on these from the deck, belay at fife rails. 

To Reef a Course. Haul up and spill the sail as if about to 
furl. Haul out the reef tackles, and reef. The senior station 
at sea is at the weather earing. An able seaman always takes 
this post. As soon as he has called “ All out to windward! ” 
the lee earing is hauled taut and the reef points passed. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


779 


Then set the sail. 

To reef an upper topsail. Lower away on halliards, haul in 
slack of weather brace until the sail shivers, take in the slack 
of the reef tackles while the yard conies down, hauling out the 
weather reef tackle first, pass earing and haul out to leeward. 
In every heavy weather many seamen prefer to clew up, when 
going large, and reef with the sail in the gear. 

When the fore and main upper topsails are to be reefed, the 
mizzen topsail is taken in. Put the ship before it and reef the 
fore topsail first. See page 211. 



Chart of the course of a ship rounding Cape Horn in a period of adverse 
gales. Follow each stroke in the zig-zag day by day as the dates are given 
on the course , from east to west , and you will read the story of a plucky fight 
lasting weeks , in which the ship “ Edward Sewall ” was driven back as fast as 
she advanced while trying to round Cape Horn in 1914. 

It took her 67 days to get from latitude SO south on the east of the conti¬ 
nent to the same parallel on the west side. On ten previous voyages the ship 
had made this portion of the voyage in from 11 to 23 days , the average being 
16.4 days. The illustration gives the course in detail between the 54 degree 
line. The coast line is indicated with no suggestion of the treacherous isles 
and inlets. 






























780 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Upper Topsail Splits. The square sails most likely to split 
are the upper topsails. When such an accident occurs, send the 
sail down, after stopping it along the yard and cutting robands. 
Use a strong gantline, and the weather reef tackle. This keeps 
the sail to windward of the stays and it can be got in on deck. 

The new sail is sent up by reefing on the foot . Pass reef 
points under the foot. Knot so they can be easily got at. Make 
up sail with stops, pass robands, and sway aloft with gantline 
and weather reef tackle. Bend as usual. When bent hook reef 
tackles and haul out, haul up on all gear, pass reef points, then 
set sail as usual. 

Taking in Sail. The procedure of taking in sail on a ship 
rigged vessel from all plain sail to storm canvas is as follows: 

1st. All plain sail to skysails. 

2d. Take in skysails, jib topsail, and upper staysails. 

3d. Take in royals, and flying jib. 

4th. Take in mizzen topgallant sail, fore topgallant sail, all 
mizzen staysails, all main staysails. 

5th. Take in main topgallant sail. 

6th. Take in mizzen topsail and reef fore topsail, take in 
outer jib. 

7th. Reef main topsail and take in fore topmast staysail. 

8th. Reef spanker and main course, take in foretopsail. 

9th. Take in mainsail, reef fore sail, take in main upper 
topsail. 

10th. Take in spanker, taken in foresail, set fore storm stay¬ 
sail, and haul down jib. 

11th. Take in mizzen lower topsail, set storm mizzen. 

12th. Take in fore lower topsail. 

13th. About this time the main lower topsail may blow away. 
If not goosewing it, that is, stow the middle and set one or both 
clews. 

Vessel is now hove-to under fore storm staysail, goose¬ 
winged main lower topsail, and storm mizzen. The main lower 
topsail may blow away and the vessel will ride under her storm 
mizzen and fore storm staysail, giving her a proper balance and 
some steerage way. All yards are pointed almost into the wind 
with pressure on after sides. All gear is stopped up where 
possible, life lines rigged, and oil overboard in bags from the 
weather cathead, forward closet pipes and from the weather 
main rigging. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


781 


Preventer gear is rove, rolling tackles hooked, and the well is 
sounded at each bell. An extra hand is at the wheel, and relieving 
tackles are hooked in after wheelhouse. 

Nothing to do but wait for the blow to be over, and to follow 
the rules for working out of a typhoon or hurricane, if that is 
the trouble. See page 827 . 

Seamen may differ some as to this order of taking in the kites, 
but this was the method practiced on the American Ship A. J. 
Fuller , out of New York, in the early nineties, Captain C. M. 
Nichols, of Searsport, Me., in command. 

If the vessel is hove-to on the wrong tack in order to work 
clear of the storm center, wear ship as described under that 
heading. Sometimes a vessel drifting to leeward gets too close 
to land and she must wear in plenty of time. Always look out 
for plenty of sea room when hove-to for any length of time. 

Scudding 

In running before a sea have spanker brailed up and haul up 
the mainsail. The foresail has a wonderful lifting effect made 
more noticeable when reefed. Head sails are generally best 
hauled down. As the weather increases in strength sail is 
shortened in the usual manner and the fore sail, close-reefed 
makes a fine sail to run with. In extremely heavy weather it may 
be difficult to round to and get under control in the usual way. 
Some of the most expert shipmasters prefer to shorten down to 
bare poles and keep before it, reducing the speed as much as 
possible. 

A vessel lying so will ship less water than when she is burying 
her nose through press of sail. 

Most American sailing craft are built with substantial after 
wheelhouses. This is a protection to the helmsman and enables 
him to steer before the wind without the constant fear of being 
pooped. Where no wheelhouse is provided the helmsman 
should be securely lashed to the standard of the wheel. Never 
lash a man to the spindle or the rim of the wheel. 

To heave-to when scudding under main lower topsail, reefed 
foresail and fore staysail. 

Haul the foresail up, and if she will run with safety for a 
short time, under the topsail and staysail, furl the foresail before 


782 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


bringing her to the wind. If, however, there is such a sea 
running that she cannot keep before it after shortening sail, 
look out for a smooth, down with the helm, and round short to, 
in order to avoid exposing her broadside to the sea a moment 
longer than is absolutely necessary. Use oil as directed. 

Broaching-to is the term applied to a vessel scudding in heavy 
weather when she runs up into the wind and is taken aback. 
This puts her in the trough and is a situation of great danger. 
If the vessel is carrying enough canvas to send her over on her 
beam ends, let fly all sheets and let go halliards. Down helm. 
This should never occur except through inattention to steering 
with a heavy quartering sea and squalls. A sudden shift of 
wind, however, may help broach a vessel to. 

Sailing before the wind, fine weather, all plain sail. Vessel 
is taken aback. 

Box off with head yards to tack nearest course. Brace up 
after yards. When after sails fill, let go and haul head yards. 

With wind fair, a vessel is often referred to as going large. 
An old term for this is rooming , used in days of bluff bows, 
square high sterns, spritsails and culverins. 

Notes on Handling Sail 

In handling sail judgment and quick action must be combined. 
Under fine weather conditions no special precautions are re¬ 
quired. If the wrong piece of gear is let go, it can easily be 
hauled taut and made fast again, but when the wind is up, at 
night, and with the ship making way through the water, squalls 
about, etc., the seaman must thoroughly understand his business. 
If he does not he will get into a mess of trouble before long. 
This severity of nature accounts for much of the severity of men 
to be met with in large sailing ships. 

Here it may be well to call attention to the fact that under 
most conditions stay sails and square sails have a certain lifting 
effect. This is specially true of a reefed fore sail, when scud¬ 
ding. 

Sails spread from a gaff have a downward effect. 

In taking in sail the wind must be spilled from a sail, at the 
same time the sail must be kept in hand with its gear or it will 
shake itself to pieces. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


783 


Blowing fresh take in a course as follows: Ease off the sheet a 
little, haul up on the weather buntlines and leechlines, then haul 
on the lee buntlines and leechlines. Start the tack and haul up 
on clew garnets, rounding in the gear together. Then haul up 
the lee clew garnets, keeping command of the sheet. 

A topsail is taken in the same way, starting to windward. Of 
course in fine weather you rise tacks and sheets together with a 
smart crew. 

On any square sail the wind is got out of it by hauling best on 
the buntlines, slow on the clewlines. 

Therefore to take in a course in fresh or heavy weather proceed 
as follows: 

Man the weather clew-garnets and buntlines, ease off the 
main-sheet a fathom or two, and belay, then slack away the 
main-tack, and haul up the weather clew-garnet and buntlines, 
taking care to have the sail kept full. When the weather-clew 
is up, and as much of the buntline as can be got, luff the vessel 
as close to the wind as possible; ease away the main-sheet, and 
haul the lee clew-garnet and buntlines at the same time. 

To take in a topsail (upper) proceed as follows: 

Slack away the weather-sheet, and haul the weather-clewline 
close up, and the buntlines as much as possible, then man the 
weather-brace, let go the lee one. As you start the lee-sheet, 
haul in upon the weather-brace , and haul up the lee-clewline and 
buntline. 

To take in a topgallant sail } ease down the halliards, round in 
on the weather brace, hauling on the clewlines at the same time. 
This follows the order “ Clew down! ” Then ease off the sheets 
and u Clew up! ” the sail, hauling home the buntlines. See p. 213 . 

Other light sails are taken in in the same way. 

Lower topsails are usually allowed to stand except in extreme 
weather. Sometimes the lee side is taken in, goosewinging 
the sail. Whenever possible send hands aloft to pass the sea 
gasgets as soon as a sail is up in the gear. Warn men not to 
pass the gasgets of a course around the lower topsail sheets. 
All yards should be fitted with beckets for the safety of men 
aloft. 

28 


784 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Setting Sail 

Sail is usually set under favorable conditions. The method of 
setting when wind is fresh or blowing hard applies to storm 
canvas. 

Setting a Course 

Loose the sail and overhaul the buntlines and leechlines. Let 
go the clew-garnets and overhaul them, and haul down on the 
sheets and tacks. If the ship is close-hauled, ease off the lee- 
braces, slack the weather-lift and clew-garnet, and get the tack 
well down. When the tack is well down, sharpen the yards up 
again by the brace, top it well up by the lift , haul aft the sheet, 
and then haul out the bowline, if carried. Most modern rigs 
dispense with this piece of gear. 

When bracing up a lower yard man the lee brace, and tend 
the weather brace and lee lift. Just think over this and it is 
easy to remember. In the case of the crossjack, man the 
weather brace and tend the lee brace, also the lee lift, as these 
braces lead forward in a ship. 

Setting a Lower Topsail, or Lower Topgallant Sail 

Man the sheets, let go the buntlines, ease off the clewlines 
as the lower topsail sheets are of chain, the clewlines must not 
go by the run or the chain will jamb in the shieve at the lower 
yard arm. 

Setting an Upper Topsail 

The clews will be sheeted home. Overhaul the downhauls , 
tend the braces, overhaul all buntlines, man the halliards. In 
large ships the halliards are taken to the winch or deck capstan. 
Let go the topgallant sheets. 

Setting a Light Sail 

When sheeting home a light sail the lee sheet is brought home 
first and the clewline is slacked away. When the weather sheet 
is manned the clewline is let go. And always when hoisting a 
yard see the sheets of the next sail above, if any, are let go, and 
have a hand at the lee brace to tend it. When a sail is set 
buntlines are overhauled and stopped with cotton twine, this 


HANDLING A SAILER 


785 


prevents chafe on sail and stops are easily broken when taking 
in sail. Buntlines are stopped together just under the lead 
blocks. 

Bracing Yards 

When going free and the wind shifts forward brace up the 
head yards first, then the main, etc. 

When wind shifts aft , brace in the crossjack yards first, then 
the main, etc. 

When close hauled always hitch the weather braces on the 
pins to prevent them coming off. Hang up the lee ones in the 
daytime, and lay them down clear for running at night. This 
is done by taking the end out well clear on the deck, and flaking 
down toward the pin. 

When sweating up braces, give the lower brace another pull 
after the topsail braces have been hauled taut. Where rope 



Close hauled port tack 
Note—trim of yards 






786 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


braces are fitted, put on the strop with the splice under the eye 
of the hook of the handy billy.* 

Many modern ships now reeve wire braces throughout. A 
small hand winch is used at the pin rail for sweating up. 

Have squaring marks on all braces. Keep yards square dur¬ 
ing fine weather in port. 

Trimming Yards 

When on the wind, brace up lower yards back against the 
swifters (forward legs of the shrouds), the yards as you go up 
are braced in a few degrees each one making a slightly smaller 
angle with the keel. The reason for this is the fact that lower 
sails are less flat, and as the sails go higher the support becomes 
less and the leverage greater. This method of trimming is most 
pronounced when close hauled. When the wind is on the 
quarter, or aft, yards may be trimmed about the same. 

Great judgment is needed in trimming yards and an officer 
should study his ship and her way through the water. Yards 
trim much sharper in fine weather than in a rough sea. 

Fore and Aft Canvas 

Taking in a jib when on the wind. Put up the helm and keep 
the ship off a point or two, let go halliards, man downhaul and 
ease off sheet. The sail will run down easily if this is done. 
This applies to all staysails. In fresh weather the sheet should 
be eased just enough to keep the hanks from binding against the 
stay. With wind free a staysail runs down as a rule without 
much hauling. 

Taking in a spanker or trysail , man the lee brails best. This 
spills the wind and helps to bring the sail in snug to the mast. 

Large fore and aft sails spread by gaffs and booms require 
the most careful handling. The gaffs are heavy and cannot be 
steadied by the vangs when well up, and these spars throw an 
enormous strain on sails and masts. In reefing, come close to 
the wind but do not allow the sail to slat heavily. All reef- 
points must be passed and earing hauled out on boom with equal 
tension, as the reef points not only supports the sail, but takes a 
large part of the weight of boom as well, although this is cared 
for by the weather leg of the topping lift. 

*Handy billy , the small watch tackle used in sweating up lower braces. 
See p. 141. 



HANDLING A SAILER 


787 


The stowing of a gaff topsail and the setting of it is not to be 
acquired by reading. This is a light weather sail and should be 
taken in in plenty of time. The sail is hoisted by a halliard to 
the mast head, the clew is hauled out to the end of the gaff by a 
sheet, the foot of the sail is hauled down on the weather side of 
the gaff by a long rope called the lazy tack , which must be shifted 
over after going about. In stowing, man downhaul, and clew- 
* line, gather sail in abaft the doubling, pass gasgets under all 
running gear. 

Squalls 

An officer in sail must always keep his eye peeled for squalls. 
At night he must have his sense of wind force keyed up to the 
working point. Carrying sail at night takes a seaman; almost 
anyone can crack-on during the day. 

With a heavy squall coming act quickly. A number of things 
may be done. 

Take in all light sails, letting them hang in their gear. Brail 
in spanker. Lower upper topsail yards. Brace in lower yards. 
Raise mainsail. Down jib and set foretopmast staysail. 

If the squall looks heavy put up helm and take it over the quar¬ 
ter. Do this before the wind strikes you, and only, of course, 
if you have the necessary sea room. 

If on a schooner, check the sheets and luff. 

It will be seen that the two types of craft call for different 
handling. Square riggers should be put before the squall, and 
fore-and-afters up into it. 

After a squall, or period of heavy weather, make sail slowly 
but do not force the vessel into a heavy sea. The sea goes 
down much slower than the wind. 

Carrying Away Rigging 

Accidents at sea under sail are of common occurrence. Sheets 
may carry away, gear parts when working sail, braces part, and 
even stays and shrouds may go in very severe weather. If a 
fore and aft stay goes, up helm and put ship before it to take off 
strain, and at once rig preventer gear. If fore stay goes, or 
foretopmast stay, get up fish tackle and hook at mast head and 
at gammoning or knight heads and set up on capstan.!! As these 


788 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


stays take most of the backward thrust of the whole system 
of masts, this accident occurs most often. The fish tackle 
should always be handy. A well-regulated ship will always have 
an abundance of heavy straps, of wire and manila, and plenty 
of tackles. 

If a shroud goes, put ship about at once, by wearing or tacking 
as may seem best. 

Upper Weather Main Topsail Brace Carries Away 

Ease lee sheet to spill the sail. Luff into wind and lower on 
halliards. These directions cover all hoisting square sails. 

Lower Weather Main Brace Carries Away 

Ease off the sheet, let go the tack and haul up the mainsail, 
bracing in on the weather lower topsail brace. Take in the 
lower topsail, starting the weather sheet at once to take the 
pull off of the main yard. Rig a preventer brace. If yard is 
swaying about put the main yards aback to steady it. 

Parral Carries Away 

This is not serious where the braces are standing. Lower the 
yard, put the sail aback and pass a temporary parral. 

Yard Sprung 

Fish the yard with suitable spars. These should be shaped 
properly by the carpenter and hove down close to the yard with 
wire lashings, and then set these taut with hard wood wedges.* 

Cap Carried Away 

Pass a Spanish cap , that is a chain lashing around the lower- 
mast head and the topmast, heaving the turns taut with a wire 
trapping. 

Lower Topmast Sprung Just Above the Cap 

Lower down till the sprung part is below the cap, wedge and 
lash. Cut new fid hole and shorten rigging. Set up and hoist 
sail. 

Cutting Away Masts 

When this becomes necessary, a vessel being down on her 
beam ends, always cut and clear the lee rigging and stays, before 

*See page 750. 


HANDLING A SAILER 


789 


cutting or knocking loose the pelican hooks of the weather 
rigging. Spars smashing alongside to leeward may bilge the 
vessel. 

When hove-to, cut the rigging on both sides except the two 
forward legs and the stays. Cut these last. 

Where a vessel is in an extreme condi¬ 
tion, cut away the mizzen and the main 
masts. Rouse up a bower chain bring it 
inboard and secure it to the foremast well 
up. Take a round turn and lash with a 
hawser. Attach a strong block and three- 
inch line with plenty of scope for an oil bag. 
Cut lee rigging and stays, cut weather rig¬ 
ging, and as the mast goes by the board, 
say a few prayers and veer chain (many 
have done this), and if all goes well the ves¬ 
sel will bring up on the sea anchor formed 
Turn buckles. Handy by the foremast and gear. Haul out a bag 

w h en ngging must be of oil and wait for the storm to blow over. 

“ set up.” 

Jury Rigs 

In a case like the one just mentioned, when the weather sub¬ 
sides haul alongside the foremast sea anchor, parbuckle the 
heavy spars on board and proceed to exercise your seamanship 
in getting up a jury rig. Work the vessel into the nearest port. 
Enter a protest before the consul, cable your owners for instruc¬ 
tions and generally follow the hints to a master in a port of 
distress, printed in the chapter ahead. 

During all such operations keep sounding the well, look after 
all tarpaulins—never neglect the cargo. 

After this, stand by for a presentation from the underwriters 
and a newer and more important command. 

Man Overboard 

On the wind , put down helm, throw over a life ring with water 
light. Try and sight the man and tell off one hand to watch him. 
Lower a lee boat. Square the head yards to stop the way In 
heavy weather, if the man has the buoy, it may often be possible 
to work down and pick him up with the vessel. 





















790 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Before the wind , put the helm down, throw a life, etc. Let 
fly light sails, brace up the crossjack and head yards and take off 
the way of the ship. Lower a lee boat. 

One of the most important things to do is to keep the man in 
sight. At night this cannot be done, but assume that he will 
swim for the water light and keep that in sight and send boat to it. 
Have a light in the boat. 


Ill 

Directions on Nearing another Vessel , your Vessel being under 

Sail Alone 

Close-hauled.—On Starboard Tack. 

Hold your course, do not steer wildly, or you may confuse 
the ship whose duty it is to keep clear of you. 

Close-hauled.—On Port Tack. 

Take bearing. 

Ascertain whether a steamer or not. 

If a steamer, keep your course. 

If a sailing vessel— 

a. If to windward of you, hold your course. 

b. If ahead of you, or less than two or three points On the 

weather bow, hold your course. 

c. If to leeward of you, or more than two or three points 

on the lee bow— 

1 st. Take bearing again. 

2 d. If her bearing has altered materially, and continues 
so to alter, keep your course. 

3d. If her bearing has not altered materially, tack, or 
bear away until it does so. 

Wind Aft. 

Take bearing. 

Ascertain whether a steamer or not. 

If a steamer, hold your course. 

If a sailing vessel— 

a. If right astern, or if overtaking you, hold your course. 

b. If in any other direction (except right astern, or over¬ 

taking you)— 


HANDLING A SAILER 


791 


1 st. Take bearing again. 

2d. If her bearing has altered materially, and continues so 
to alter, hold your course. 

3d. If her bearing has not altered materially, alter course 
sufficiently to starboard or to port to assist in alter¬ 
ing her bearing. 

Running Free .— Wind on Starboard Side. 

Take bearing. 

Ascertain whether steamer or not. 

If a steamer, hold your course. 

If a sailing vessel— 

a. If to windward of you, or if ahead of you, and going 

free, or if her Red light only (or her Port side) shows 
provided always she is not close-hauled , keep your 
course. 

b. If ahead of you and close-hauled, or if to leeward of 

you, or if her Green light (or her Starboard side) 
shows, or if you are overtaking her— 

1 st. Take bearing again. 

2 d. If her bearing has altered materially, and continues 
so to alter, hold your course. 

3d. If her bearing has not altered materially, alter course 
sufficiently to starboard or port to assist to alter her 
bearing. 

Running Free.—Wind on Port Side. 

Take bearing. 

Ascertain whether a steamer or not. 

If a steamer, hold your course. 

If a sailing vessel—* 

a. If to windward of you, and with the wind on her port 

side, or right aft, hold your course. 

b. Under all circumstances— 

1 st. Take bearing again. 

2 d. If her bearing has altered materially, and continues so 
to alter, hold your course. 

c. If she is on your starboard side— 

1 st. Take bearing again. 

2 d. If she has altered her bearing materially, hold your 


course. 


792 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


3 d. If her bearing has not altered materially, alter course 
sufficiently to starboard or port to assist in altering 
her bearing. 

In all of the above instructions, action depends upon definite 
knowledge of the course and condition of the other vessel. 
Never shave close. Give way in plenty of time if you are the 
burdened vessel. If you are the privileged vessel watch your 
course and speed. Know Rules of Road. 

IV 

Coming to Anchor with a Sailer 

Have the anchors both ready for letting go. Reduce canvas to 
the lowest working size. As the ship comes to the anchorage 
luff unto the wind and square the fore and main yards. As soon 
as the ship gathers sternboard, let go the anchor and veer chain, 
clewing up and hauling down at the same time. 

A fore-and-after has a harder time coming to anchor because 
of the lack of positive backing force to the sails. 

Many conditions of wind and tide and the room available for 
anchoring must be taken into consideration. In most places ships 
are taken to their anchorages by tugs, but often it is necessary 
to manage the business alone. 

To come to an anchorage with the wind and tide in the same 
direction. Round up with the after square canvas set. Square 
the after yards and let go as soon as her way is less than the 
tide. As she veers chain haul down and clew up. 

To come to anchor with the wind and tide opposed to each 
other. Stem the tide, pick out the best anchorage, stow all 
sail ride with the tide and let go, taking care not to pay out chain 
too fast. If the wind is strong try and avoid breaking sheer and 
riding over the anchor so as to foul it. 

A fore-and-after working into an anchorage may often gain a 
desired position by resorting to half-boards , that is luffing into 
the eye of the wind and paying off again before she loses her 
way. This is often used in making a gain to windward where 
tacking cannot be resorted to because of shipping or for other 
reasons. Yachts stop their way by putting helm hard over to 
port and starboard alternately. 




HANDLING A SAILOR 


793 




Riding at Single Anchor 

A light ship will generally lie best to leeward of her anchor. 
A deeply laden ship will often lie to windward of it, keeping a good 
sheer at all times, and seeing that she swings with the tide on a 
taut cable and always on the same side of the anchor, if possible. 

The same precautions are to be observed as in the case of a 
steamer. Always have sufficient sail bent to take care of her 
if she trips her anchor. Always have the second bower ready 
to let go. When the weather makes up veer chain in plenty of 
time. Keep yards braced up sharp in stiff weather and on the 
tack that will help hold her sheer. An officer should always 
stand anchor watch when in an open roadstead. 


Casting* 

A vessel riding at anchor and getting under way presents 
many different sets of conditions. In casting to starboard loose 
lower and upper topsails and jib. Heave to short stay, sheet 
home and hoist away topsails. Brace up fore yards on starboard 
tack, main yards on port tack. Crossjack yards square. As she 
pays off to starboard break out anchor. When main topsails fill, 
brace around fore yards and crossjack yards, set jib and spanker 
and proceed. To cast to port brace yards in opposite way. 

In casting the seaman must show his judgment and his skill. 
No rules can be set down covering all conditions. Each time a 
vessel gets under way new conditions confront the master. 
Weigh all conditions carefully, the force of wind and tide, the 
way the vessel is riding, the state of the hawse, the proximity of 
other craft, or dangers, and the possible courses that can be 
made out of the anchorage. 


Sail and Motor 

When close hauled with light wind run the lee engine (if you 
have twin screws). This will hold her up against leeway and 
is generally worth while. 

Warning 

Never approach a coast unless your anchors are bent on in 
plenty of time and are ready for instant use. Many fine craft 
have been lost through neglect of this precaution. The shores 
of Tierra del Fuego have caught many a Cape Horner suddenly 
driven on the rocks with anchors stowed and cables unbent. 

*Casting is the getting under way of a sailing vessel riding at anchor. 





794 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


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CHAPTER 20 


WEATHER AT SEA 

I 

Foreword 

Most people, when they don't know what to talk about, talk 
about the weather. Authors also seem to follow this system 
when we glance over the long list of books about the weather. 
We find a wealth of elaborate maps covered with sinuous curves 
and many pages of tables. Much of this matter is absolutely 
worthless to the sailor. 

Bowditch contains excellent data on the weather observed at 
sea, the prevailing winds of the great oceans, and the simple 
recording instruments in use on board ship; the barometer, 
thermometer, anemomether, etc. Captain Lecky has a fine 
chapter on marine meteorology in his Wrinkles , and Mr. 
William Allinghan has written A Manual of Marine Meteorology 
that every ship's officer should study. The Atmosphere , by 
F. J. B. Cordeiro is an excellent book for those who like to get 
their facts dressed up in mathematics. Here we learn that the 
cyclone is dynamically a gyroscope. Mr. Cordeiro also prints 
the letter by Alexander Hamilton, dated at St. Croix, September 
6,1772, in which that distinguished statesman and scholar, then a 
very young man, records the passing of a cyclone with brilliant 
vividness. It is said to be his earliest writing. 

Professor Milham, of Williams College, records some three 
hundred titles in the bibliography printed as an appendix to his 
own very excellent Meteorology . 

But in a seamanship, a work book in the best sense, the 
weather must be treated and in a practical way. Sailing craft 
are absolutely dependent upon it and steamers are largely 
effected by weather and sea conditions. Several very important 
things may be called to the attention of the seaman. 

On a sailing ship the officer in charge of a watch, and the 
master, of course, are fully alive to the vast importance, to them, 

795 


796 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


of the weather, especially the wind and its changes. The sea 
officer, in sail, is constantly keeping his “ weather eye ” on the 
clouds, the sky in general and the sea. * He becomes of necessity 
a keen observer of local weather conditions and learns to judge 
the speed and weight of a squall with remarkable accuracy, even 
on the darkest night. He soon feels the weather. The “ glass ” 
and its pumping means volumes to him. Sunset, and sunrise 
and the high clouds at the zenith, all speak to him with the 


language of experience. Little 
this ancient lore— 

First rise, after low, 

Indicates a stronger blow. 

Long foretold, long last: 

Short notice, soon past. 

When the glass falls low, 

Prepare for a blow; 

When it rises high, 

Let all your kites fly. 

(Referring to the barometer.) 


When the rain's before the wind, 
Halyards, sheets, and braces mind. 

When the wind's before the rain, 
Soon you may make sail again. 

(Squalls.) 


jingles sum up a great deal of 

A red sky in the morning 
Is the sailor's warning. 

A red sky at night 
Is the sailor's delight. 


Evening red and morning gray 
Are certain signs of a fine day. 


A mackerel sky with lamb's tails 
Makes tall ships carry low sails. 
(Referring to cloud forms.) 


June, too soon; July, stand by; 
August, look out you must. 
September, remember; October, 
all over. 

(Hurricanes.) 


The steamship officer, as stated in the chapter on the Compass, 
is vitally interested in this question of the speed of sailing craft 
under different conditions of wind and sea and on the various 
points of sailing. To accurately judge the above important 
points he must know the true force and direction of the wind, 
not with relation to his own swiftly moving vessel, but with 
relation to the sailing craft he is liable to meet. 

For instance, a vessel making twenty knots due north with a 
wind blowing twenty knots due south, would have the wind 
dead ahead and apparently blowing forty knots, in fact actually 
blowing forty knots over the steamer , but only half that fast 
over the sea. If the vessel were steaming south the air would 










WEATHER AT SEA 


797 


appear to be calm, smoke rising straight up from the stack, and 
not unlikely showering the bridge with cinders and soot. 

Between these two extremes we have an infinite number of 
variations where the wind blows at an angle to the course of the 
steamer. In the daytime the direction of the sea waves will 
often give the true direction of the wind, having in mind the 
fact that the sea may be running from a previous storm or a 
distant wind, and may have an appreciably different direction 
to the wind over head. 

The solution to this problem of the true direction and force 
depends upon the following factors: 

Speed of vessel. 

Relative direction of wind across vessel (see relative bearings, 
page 464). 

Apparent velocity of wind over vessel. See page 465. 

Plotting these three factors to scale and working out a paral¬ 
lelogram of velocities will give the true direction and velocity 
of the wind over the sea. 

Of course no sane person will expect an officer to plot these 
factors and work out a parallelogram of velocities while on the 
bridge on a dark night. But by working out problems comfort¬ 
ably on fine afternoons on the bridge he will soon become able 
to judge correctly just what is the true wind direction and velo¬ 
city, knowing its apparent direction and velocity and the speed 
of his ship. 

Allingham, in his Marine Meteorology gives an excellent table 
for solving this problem. Still, when these tables are needed 
most, on a dark wet night, they can not be used. Only judg¬ 
ment and experience are worth while at such times. The 
late Captain Lecky W9rked it out by trigonometry using four- 
place logarithms. 

II 

* 

Storm Warnings 

The seaman who is not equipped with radio, will watch for 
storm warnings from signal stations along the coast and these 
warnings should also be heeded by vessels at anchor in exposed 
harbors where they may drag their moorings. 

United States storm warnings by flags are as follows: 




798 


WEATHER AT SEA 


Storm Warning Flags. —A red square flag with a black center 
indicates that a storm of marked violence is expected. 

The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction 
of the wind: Red pennant, easterly; white pennant, westerly. 
The pennant above the flag indicates that the wind is expected 
to blow from the northerly quadrants; below , from southerly 
quadrants. 



United States Storm Warnings. 

By night the approach of storms of marked violence is indi¬ 
cated by: Two red lights, one above the other, for winds be¬ 
ginning from the northeast; a single red light for winds beginning 
from the southeast; a red light above a white light for winds 
beginning from the southwest; and a white light above a red 
light for winds beginning from the northwest. 

Mi 



Hurricane Signal 


Hurricane warnings. —Two red flags with black centers, dis¬ 
played one above the other, indicate the expected approach of 
























WEATHER AT SEA 


799 


tropical hurricanes, and also of those extremely severe and 
dangerous storms which occasionally move across the Lakes and 
northern Atlantic coast. These warnings are displayed at all 
Weather Bureau stations on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts 
of the United States, at Belize, Honduras, and on the following 
islands of the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea: Bermuda, Cuba, 
Jamaica, Haiti, Porto Rico, Turks Island, Virgin Islands of the 
U. S. A., Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vin¬ 
cent, St. Kitts, Trinidad, Grenada, Curasao, and Swan Island. 

By night on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts two red lights 
with a white light between indicate the approach of a hurri¬ 
cane or whole gale. 

Ill 

Forecasting the Weather # 

The following, adapted from an article by Commodore A. B. 
Bennett, Jr., of the U. S. Power Squadrons, is printed here by 
permission of the author, and of Yachting in which it appeared.* 

In order to intelligently predict the weather it is essential to 
have a working knowledge of the laws that govern its changes. 

When reading the Barometer we simply read the measure of 
the weight or pressure of the air at that particular place and 
elevation. Suppose we go down under water in a submarine 
bell and in the wall of the bell there is an instrument to indicate 
the pressure of the water outside. If the water is calm and the 
bell is moved up and down close to the undulating bottom of the 
water we would notice a difference in the pressure registered 
by the instrument being less as we went up and greater as we 
went down. This is also true of the air for if we climb up and 
down a mountain the air pressure changes, being lighter on the 
mountain and heavy in the valleys and at sea level. Again 
suppose the submarine bell is stationary and a storm comes up 
and great waves pass over the spot where the bell is located we 
would notice that as the water rose and fell the pressure would 
rise and fall. It is the same in the air for there is a constant 
passing over the earth of waves of atmospheric weight and as 
these waves pass over, the barometer will show a rise and fall 
as the crests and troughs of the waves move on. 

In the North Temperate Zone the movement of the atmospheric 
pressure waves is always easterly, the center of the trough or 
the low points usually passing out over the Gulf of the St. 

*The student sailor is advised to consult Physics of the Air, by Dr. W. J. 
Humphreys of the U. S. Weather Bureau, to supplement the reading of this 
section of the seamanship. 


29 


800 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Lawrence. This is true with the exception of a few low points 
which form in the Tropics and either pass up the Mississippi or 
the Atlantic Coast. These waves of atmospheric pressure are 
not in parallel ridges like the waves of the sea, but they are like a 
mountain range with peaks of different heights and valleys of 
different depths passing over the earth, not broadside, but 
end on; not as a company marching company front, but as in 
march-ing in column of twos. The speed of their passing varies 
from one peak and valley a day to one peak and valley in a 
week. 

The high pressure areas are areas where the air is heavy or 
dense and low pressure areas are areas where the air is light or 
rare. As air is like fluid in its tendency to flow the direction 
of its flow is naturally from the high pressure areas to the low 
pressure areas and this movement of air is wind. The move¬ 
ment of air or wind in its relation to the highs and lows is in 
obedience to definite meteorological laws. Pull out the stopper 
of a wash bowl which is full of water and you will notice that 
the water does not rush to the center, but soon takes on a spiral 
direction rushing around and around on its way to the low point 
or opening of the bowl. Air currents or winds behave in the 
same way about a point of low pressure going spirally and 
inward and always in a counter clockwise direction. Air currents 
about a high pressure point flow spirally and outward and always 
in a clockwise direction. The speed of these air currents, or in 
other words the force of the wind, is in direct ratio to the slope 
from the peak to the valley or the amount of difference between 
and the proximity of the high and low. A high which is not very 
high and a low which is not very low and considerable distance 
apart will have hardly any flow of air from one to the other, 
but a very low point with a high point or high points nearby 
will result in a very rapid flow of air or a strong wind flowing 
spirally toward the center of the low as illustrated by a tropical 
storm or a Western hurricane or cyclone. The areas of low 
pressure are known as cyclones and the areas of high pressure 
are known as anticyclones. 

The location of the highs and lows is ascertained every day 
by the Weather Bureau and the easterly advance can be easily 
watched. The method of ascertaining this is fairly simple. At 
the same hour every day barometer and thermometer readings 
are taken at hundreds of stations, ashore and on shipboard. The 
barometer readings are corrected to sea level, which means 
making allowances for elevations and temperature. Then the 
readings are noted upon a map at all the stations and the stations 
with the same reading are connected by a line. These lines 
are known as Isobars. Also the stations with the same tem¬ 
perature are connected with a dotted line and these lines are 


WEATHER AT SEA 


801 


known as Isotherms. The drawing of the Isobars immediately 
reveals the highs and lows, their proximity to each other and the 
steepness of their slopes. The slope is known as the Barometric 
Gradient. Accompanying the report from the stations is a 
report of the wind, its direction and force and this is shown on 
the map by an arrow placed in the proper direction. 

The barometer is an instrument for the measuring of the 
weight of the atmosphere and the principles of the instrument 
were discovered by Torricelli in 1643. He found that when he 
filled a glass tube (which was closed at one end) with mercury 
and inverted it in a bowl of mercury that the weight of the air 
on the mercury in the bowl would support the mercury in the 
tube to a height of thirty inches. All standard barometers are 
of the mercury type and the readings on all barometers represent 
height of mercury. The weight of the atmosphere is not 
measured in pounds or ounces but in height of mercury. For 
our use th e aneroid* barometer of good make is much better than 
a mercury type as the aneroid is accurate enough, is compact 
and easily handled. At least each quarter the aneroid barometer 
should be compared with a standard barometer. Do not remove 
from ship. Take set of readings and time to W.B. for compari¬ 
son. In certain parts of the scale the aneroid may rise or fall 
more or less than the standard and the best way to determine 
this is to take the reading of the aneroid and compare the range 
of activity with that of the W.B. standard. This study of rela¬ 
tive activity had best be from 29.20 inches to 30.60 inches which 
is as much range as we will usually need to know about. The 
best time of the year to make this study is in winter when there 
are the most active changes and the greatest range of rising 
and falling atmosphere pressure. The weather words usually 
found on the face of an aneroid barometer are of small value 
to the sailor and should be disregarded. The ideal face of an 
aneroid should be perfectly plain, except for the graduations. 

In using a barometer it is important to realize that a single 
observation of a barometer without reference to the readings at 
definite intervals preceding is not only useless but liable to be 
misleading. Therefore it is very necessary to keep a written 
record of the barometer readings at stated intervals during the 
twenty-four hours. Another important fact to be considered is 
that the barometer foretells, as well as indicates weather that is 

*The aneroid barometer is a metal box partly exhausted of air, the sides 
bulge out or in as the air pressure varies. This motion is measured on a 
scale graduated to inches of mercury, or in millimeters or in centibars. Cen¬ 
tibar graduation is being introduced by the British, 100 centibars being the 
“standard atmosphere” in the C.G.S. (centimetre, gramm, second) system 
of units. Standard Atmosphere is the pressure of a mercury column of 
standard gravity, 0° C., 760 millimeters high. 




802 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


present, foretelling changes as much as twelve to twenty-four 
hours in advance.* 

In forecasting remember that “ The possibility is always for a 
continuance of existing weather unless some phenomenon 
presents itself which foretells a change.” 

In regard to the barometer readings, the important points to 
know are, has the rise or fall been gradual or rapid or if sta¬ 
tionary how long has it been so. And in making barometer 
readings remember that there is a natural change of pressure 
every day because the principal maximum pressure occurs at 
10 a. m. and 10 p. m., and the principal minimum pressure occurs 
at 4 a. m. and 4 p. m., amounting to .05 of an inch. Therefore, 
if the barometer shows a fall of .05 between 10 a. m. and 4 p. m. 
it really means a stationary barometer. This allowance should 
be made to form an accurate opinion of the barometer change. 

A stationary barometer indicates a continuance of existing 
conditions, but a slight tap on the barometer face will likely 
move the hand a little indicating the tendency to rise or fall. 
A rapid rise or a rapid fall indicates that a strong wind is about 
to blow with a change in the weather, the nature of the change 
depends upon the direction of the wind. The rapidity of the 
storm’s approach and its intensity will be indicated by the rate 
and amount of fall in the barometer. 

A fall of .01 inch per hour is considered a low rate of fall. 

A fall of .03 inch per hour is considered a high rate of fall. 

A rate of .10 inch might be reached and a rate of .20 has been 
recorded. 

In the tropics a fall of more than .02 is considered dangerous 
and the following table shows the distance of the storm center 
from the vessel by the average rate of fall. See page 826. 


Average fall of barometer per hour 
From .02 to .06 inch 
From .06 to .08 inch 
From .08 to .12 inch 
From .12 to .15 inch 


Distance from storm center 
From 250 to 150 miles 
From 150 to 100 miles 
From 100 to 80 miles 
From 80 to 50 miles 


When the barometer falls considerably without any particular 
change of weather a violent storm is raging at a distance. And 
the barometer falls lower for high winds than for heavy rains. 

The barometer falls for southerly winds (including from S. E. 
by S. westward), for wet weather, stronger wind or for more 
than one of these changes, except on a few occasions, when 
moderate wind with rain or snow comes from the northward. 
If the barometer falls slowly for several days during fine weather, 
*The Barograph is a recording aneroid barometer and traces a line of pres¬ 
sure readings on a revolving card moved by a clock. 



WEATHER AT SEA 


803 


expect considerable rain. A lowering barometer and rising 
thermometer indicate heavy rain. A very low barometer is 
usually attendant upon stormy weather with wind and rain at 
intervals but the latter not necessarily in any great quantity. 
Should the barometer continue low when the sky becomes clear, 
expect more rain in twenty-four hours. If the weather, not¬ 
withstanding a very low barometer, is fine and calm it is not to 
be depended upon as a change may come very suddenly. 

For middle latitudes (standard readings): 

29.50 and thereabouts is very low. 

30.00 inches is an average pressure. 

30.50 inches is high.* 

The barometer rises for northerly winds (including from N. W. 
by N. to eastward) for dry or less wet weather, for less wind, or 
for more than one of these changes except on a few occasions 
when rain, hail or snow comes from the northward with strong 
winds. If the barometer continues rising while wet weather 
continues, the weather after a day or two will probably be fair 
for some time, and when the barometer and thermometer rise 
together it is a very sure sign of coming fine weather. 

A gradual but steady rise indicates settled weather. 

A gradual but steady fall indicates wet or unsettled weather. 

A very slow rise from a low point is usually associated with 
high winds and dry weather. 

A rapid rise indicates clear weather with high winds. 

A very slow fall from a high point is usually associated with 
wet and unpleasant weather without much wind. 

A sudden fall indicates a sudden shower or high wind or both. 

When the air becomes colder and drier with a rising barom¬ 
eter, it is pretty certain that a northeast wind is coming. 

* Capt. Arthur H. Mellick, of the United States fisheries ship Eider , has 
submitted the following note, which is interesting in connection with the 
abnormally high pressure prevailing over Alaska and the Aleutian Islands and 
the unusually low pressure (barometer 29.64 inches Jan. 17) at Honolulu 
during January, 1920. 

“On the 15th day of January we left Unalaska for the Pribiloff Islands. 
The barometer then registered 30.62. By midnight it was 30.66 [inches]. 
On the 16th at midnight it showed 31.00. At noon on the 17th it showed 
31.20, at 4.00 p. m. it was above the registered marks, and at midnight it was 
back to 31.20, where it remained until 4.00 a. m. on the 19th, when it com¬ 
menced to fall very slowly; and even now, with a northeast gale blowing and 
heavy snowstorm, it is still 30.68. Such barometer readings I have never 
seen in this part of Alaska before with all the years that I have been in the 
country. While at the Pribiloff Islands the sea was very calm and light 
northeast breeze, but not a particle of ice was to be seen, although it felt as 
though it was not very far away.” Monthly Weather Review U. S. W. B. 







804 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


When the air gets warmer and damper with falling barometer, 
it is safe to infer that a south-west wind is at hand. 

When the wind sets in from points between east and north¬ 
east and the barometer falls steadily, a storm is approaching from 
the south or southwest, its center will pass near or to the south 
or east of the observer within twelve to twenty-four hours, with 
wind shifting to northwest by way of north. 

When the wind sets in from points between south and south¬ 
east and the barometer falls steadily, it indicates a storm ap¬ 
proaching from the west or the northwest. Its center will pass 
near or to the north of the observer within twelve to twenty- 
four hours, with the wind shifting to northwest by way of south¬ 
west and west. 

A good aneroid barometer will indicate the height of a table. 

The indications afforded by the wind and barometer are the 
best guide we now have for determining future weather con¬ 
ditions. 

Wind is the most important factor in weather and the shifting 
of the wind is the most trustworthy of weather indications for 
coming changes though in the warm months the winds are often 
light and variable and the changes in direction have not quite 
the same importance as in the colder months.* Wind always 
takes the name of the point of the compass from which it comes. 

As a rule winds from the east quadrant with falling barometer 
indicate foul weather and winds shifting to the west quadrant 
indicate clearing and fair weather. South winds bring warmth, 
north winds cold, east winds in middle latitudes indicate the 
approach of a low from the westward and west winds show that 
the storm area has passed to the eastward. A rule worth 
remembering is the following: When the wind comes up with 
the sun it is likely to go down with it but when the wind rises as 
the sun sets it is likely to blow all night and probably the next day. 

Rain .—In taking up the subject of rain the first thought I wish 
to convey is that we must think of the air as a mixture of gases 
holding moisture in the form of water vapor. Like a sponge, it 
can be anywhere from slightly damp to very wet without dripping 
and the air can be from slightly humid to very humid without 
precipitation. The amount of humidity is expressed in per cent., 
meaning the per cent, of the air’s capacity for moisture. A 
humidity of sixty per cent, is considered good. If the humidity 
is high and the barometer starts to fall the capacity of the air 
for moisture is lessened and the moisture will precipitate and 
fall as rain. It is a fact that from the Mississippi and Missouri 
valleys to the Atlantic coast and on the Pacific coast rain gen- 

* The wind veers when it shifts “ with the sun right handed in North¬ 
ern Hemisphere; left handed in Southern Hemisphere. The wind is said to 
“ back ” when it shifts “ against the sun.” 


WEATHER AT SEA 


805 


erally begins on a falling barometer. However, in the warmer 
months summer showers and thunderstorms usually come about 
the time the barometer turns from falling to rising. Another 
point that must be borne in mind is that warm air’has a much 
greater capacity for moisture than cold air and that precipitation 
occurs when moist air is cooled below the dew point as rain, 
snow, hail or frost. 

Rain is preceded from 12 to 24 hours by a rise in atmospheric 
moisture. Without this increase in moisture the changes in 
barometer and temperature would not produce rain. A good 
hygrometer will keep one informed as to the state of humidity 
and is a great help in forecasting rain. However, there are 
two natural signs of high humidity which should be remembered. 
Sound travels easily through moist air so that distant sounds 
are easily heard which has given rise to the following couplet: 

“ Sound traveling far and wide 
A stormy day will betide.” 

The other natural sign of rain is excessive refraction of the 
atmosphere when distant objects as hills are unusually visible 
or raised, and based on this fact is the old proverb: 

“ The farther the sight 
The nearer the rain.” 

The signs of falling weather in the colder months are: the 
formation of a high sheet cloud covering the whole sky, an 
increase in temperature and moisture of the air and the wind 
changing to some easterly quarter. The precise direction that 
the wind takes either N. E. or S. E. varies for different localities 
and the direction from which the storm is approaching. In New 
England, the Middle Atlantic States and the Ohio valley, N. E. 
winds precede storms approaching from the S. W. and S. E. 
winds precede storms approaching by way of the Great Lakes. 
Also during the colder months, when the land temperature is 
below the water temperature of the ocean, precipitation will begin 
along the seaboard when the wind shifts and blows steadily 
from the water over the land without regard to the height of the 
barometer. In such cases the moisture in the warm ocean winds 
is condensed by the cold of the continental area. During the 
summer months, on the contrary, the ocean winds are not neces¬ 
sarily rain winds for the reason that they are cooler than the 
land surfaces and their capacity for moisture is increased by the 
warmth that is communicated to them by the land surfaces. If, 
however, the easterly winds of summer increase in force with a 
falling barometer, the approach of an area of low barometer 


806 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


pressure from the west is indicated and rain will follow in a day 
or two. 

“ Rainbow in the morning 
Sailor take warning 
Rainbow at night 
Sailors' delight 

Thunderstorms. —The rain of summer usually occurs with 
thunder storms which are most frequent from certain directions 
and the wind in a particular quarter. Beyond the fact that more 
thunder storms come from a westerly quarter than from any 
other direction little can be said of value in forecasting their 
approach by the surface winds only. Their coming can usually 
be foretold a few hours by the form and movement of the clouds. 
A thunder storm in summer which does not depress the barom¬ 
eter will be very local and of slight consequence. Thunder 
storms are rare when the barometer is high and are to be looked 
for when it is low. About the earliest indication is when the 
sun in the morning is breaking through clouds and scorching a 
thunder storm will follow in the afternoon. 

Rainbows .—Rainbows are produced by the refraction of the 
sun’s rays in the rain drops in the air, the center of the bow 
being opposite the sun. A rainbow seen in the morning is to 
the west and the shower will probably pass over the observer. 
And if seen in the afternoon the shower is to the east and is 
passing off. 

Fogs .—Fogs are usually produced when a current of warm 
moist air passes over a body of water of a lower temperature. 
Fogs indicate fine weather. On the Atlantic from 30 to 35 north 
latitude fogs are almost unknown. 

Dew. —When the temperature of the earth’s surface falls 
below the dew point of the air the latter deposits on the cooled 
surface part of its vapor in dew drops. This is due to the rapid 
cooling by radiation especially on clear nights when the tem¬ 
perature of the ground and other solid substances becomes 
colder than the air above and the dew point or frost point is 
reached by the ground while the air a few feet above may be 
several degrees warmer. Dew is an indication of fine weather. 
Heavy dew in hot weather indicates a continuance of fair 
weather. No dew , after a hot day, foretells rain. 

Frost suddenly following a heavy rain seldom lasts. 

Moon. —A halo or ring around the moon may be caused by 
ice crystals or water mist in the upper atmosphere and is an 
indication that bad weather is coming, possibly within twenty- 
four hours. One of the best forecasts based upon the appear¬ 
ance of the moon is when the moon can be seen quite clearly 


WEATHER AT SEA 


807 


in the day time fair and cooler weather will follow with winds 
probably from the northerly quadrant. 

“ Moon light nights have the heaviest frosts.” 

Clouds .—Clouds have been poetically called the “ Storm 
signals of the sky.” And in every locality there is one direction 
of cloud motion that betokens bad weather and another which 
portends fine weather. 

“ A fog on a mountain is a cloud 
And a cloud on earth is a fog.” 

After fine weather the first signs in the sky of a coming change 
are usually light streaks, curls, wisps or mottled patches of white 
distant clouds which increase, and are followed by an over¬ 
casting murky vapor that grows into cloudiness—this appearance 
more or less watery, is an infallible sign, that wind or rain will 
prevail. Usually the higher and more distant such clouds seem 
to be the more gradual but more general the change will prove. 

One of the important effects of clouds is to prevent the mini¬ 
mum temperature from becoming as low as it would under a 
clear sky because the radiation from the earth is hindered. 

When clouds form over a region where the air is saturated 
with moisture the globules of water forming the clouds unite and 
descend through the moist air underneath falling as rain, and 
the higher the cloud the larger the size of the drops will be. 
High upper clouds crossing the sun, moon or stars in a direction 
different from that of the lower clouds or the wind field below, 
foretell a change of wind toward that direction. 

Light scud clouds driving across heavy masses, show wind and 
rain, but if they are alone they may indicate wind only. 

Misty clouds forming or hanging on heights, if they remain, 
increase or descend, indicate wind and rain, but if they rise or 
disperse the weather will improve or become fine. Light deli¬ 
cate quiet tints of color with soft undefined form of clouds, 
indicate and accompany fine weather. Generally the softer the 
appearance the less wind may be expected and the harder, more 
greasy, rolled and tufted or ragged the stronger the coming wind 
will prove. 

Unusual gaudy hues with hard definite outlined clouds foretell 
rain and probably strong wind. 

Hard-edged oily-looking clouds indicate wind and small inky- 
looking clouds foretell rain. 

Clouds are different in form and character, and accordingly 
have been classified as follows: 

Cirrus .—Is the most elevated of all, thin and long-drawn 
looking like carded wool or hair or like curly or fleecy patches. 
It is the Cat’s tail of the sailor, and the Mare’s tail of the lands- 


808 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


man. Its summer speed averages 67 miles per hour, while in 
winter it is 78 miles per hour, and has been observed making 
182 to 200 miles per hour. 

Cumulus. —Is in large masses of hemispherical form above 
and flat below, one piled above another and often afford rain 
and thunder gusts. Their tops in summer travel on an average 
of 34 miles per hour, and in winter 47 miles per hour. 

Stratus. —Is in layers or bands extending horizontally, and has 
an average speed in summer of 13 miles per hour and in winter 
of 24 miles per hour. 

Nimbus. —Has a uniform gray tint and ragged edges, it covers 
the sky in seasons of continuous rain and is the proper rain cloud. 

Cirro-Cumulus. —Like the cirrus of these broken fleece-like 
clouds, but the parts are more or less rounded and regularly 
grouped. It is the mackerel sky. 

Cirro-Stratus. —The cirrus coalesce in long strata. 

Cumulo-Stratus. —Between cumulo and stratus often of a 
black or bluish tint at the horizon. 

“ Mackerel sky 
Twelve hours dry, 

The higher the clouds 
The finer the weather. 

When clouds appear like rocks and towers, 

The Earth's refreshed by frequent showers." 

Thunder and Lightning— Thunder rolls because lightning is 
an instant discharge, the sounds reaching us progressively from 
lower to upper strata of the air. The occurrence of thunder and 
lightning is practically simultaneous, but an interval elapses be¬ 
fore the thunder is heard due to the distance. To calculate the 
distance approximately allow one mile for every five seconds in¬ 
terval. If lightning is at a distance of or more than fifteen 
miles thunder will not be heard. 

Lightning owing to the different types of flashes has been 
classified as follows: 

Streak: A plain broad smooth streak or flash. 

Sinuous: A flash following some general direction, but the line 
is sinuous, bending from side to side. 

Ramified: Part of the flash appears to branch off from the main 
stem like branches of a tree. 

Ball: Wanders without definite course and forms irregular loops. 
Beaded: A series of bright beads along streak lightning. 

Dark flashes: Not understood, but believed to be a photo¬ 
graphic effect within the camera as it is only noted in pho¬ 
tographs. Physics of the Azr, p. 379. 

Heat Lightning: Is distant lightning flashes below the horizon, 
illuminating the higher strata of clouds and too far away 
for its thunder to be heard. 


WEATHER AT SEA 


809 


Sun and Sky .*—The sun regulates the weather, it gives rise 
to winter and summer; by evaporation it raises the aqueous 
vapor into the air and this vapor by cooling causes clouds, rain, 
snow and hail. The sun is the primary cause of the difference 
in atmospheric pressure and in this way produces wind. 

The following are a few simple indications of the color and 
appearance of sky at sunset and sunrise and of the sky overhead. 

If the sun sets in a sky slightly purple and the atmosphere at 
the zenith is a bright blue, we may rely upon fine weather. 

If the sun is bright at noon it will be red at night. 

Whether clear or cloudy, a rosy sky at sunset presages fine 
weather. 

If before sunset the sun appears diffuse and of a brilliant white, 
it foretells storms. 

When after sunset the western sky is of a whitish yellow, 
extending a great height, it indicates probably rain during the 
night or next day. Gaudy or unusual hues, with hard definitely 
outlined clouds, foretell rain and probably wind. 

The sun setting after a fine day behind a heavy bank of clouds, 
with a falling barometer is generally indicative of rain or snow 
according to the season, either in the night or next morning. 
Setting in dark clouds expect rain the next day. 

A bright yellow sky at sunset indicates wind and a pale yellow 
sky at sunset indicates rain. 

By the prevalence of any kind of red or yellow or other tints, 
the coming weather may be foretold. 

A dark Indian red indicates rain. 

A sickly looking greenish hue indicates wind and rain. 

A low dawn is when the day breaks on or near the horizon, the 
first streaks of light being very low down. 

A high dawn is when the first indications of daylight are seen 
above a bank of clouds and indicates wind. 

When the sun in the morning is breaking through clouds and 
scorching, a thunderstorm follows in the afternoon. 

A red sky in the morning indicates considerably wind and rain. 

A gray sky in the morning indicates fine weather. 

A dark gloomy blue sky overhead in the day indicates wind 
but light. 

A bright blue sky indicates fine weather. A solar halo indi¬ 
cates bad weather and when the sun appears to draw water, rain 
follows soon. 

*The character of the day, as determined by the Weather Bureau, is divided 
into three groups. A day when the sky is three-tenths or less covered with 
clouds, on the average, is recorded as clear; from four-tenths to seven-tenths 
as partly cloudy; and eight-tenths or more as cloudy. The degree of cloudi¬ 
ness is determined by a number of eye observations throughout the day. 


810 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Radio Weather Forecasts* 

The forecasting of weather along the seaboard by the U. S. 
Weather Bureau has become a service of exceptional value. 
Seamen of the present day are well informed by radio of the 
general weather conditions expected over an extensive range of 
the ocean. The further development of this valuable service is 
being urged and the ship lanes of the world, with their many 
observers, may soon be plotted each hour of the day and the 
weather foretold with scientific accuracy. 

Ships with wireless are in a position to gather weather reports 
from other ships, and with greater meteorological knowledge, to 
plot weather charts, locate storm centers and forecast the condi¬ 
tions to be expected. Two or more observers in a hurricane, 
or typhoon, area, exchanging data, would be of* great mutual 
assistance. 

IV 

Winds 

(.Adapted From Bowditch ) 

To better understand how the air can be set in motion by 
differences of pressure it is necessary to have a clear conception 
of the nature of the air itself. 

The atmosphere which completely envelops the earth may be 
considered as a fluid sea at the bottom of which we live, and 
which extends upward to a considerable height, probably 200 
miles, constantly diminishing in density as the altitude increases. 

The air, or material of which this atmosphere is composed, is a 
transparent gas, which, like all other gases, is perfectly elastic 
and highly compressible. Although extremely light, it has a 
perfectly definite weight, a cubic foot of air, at ordinary pressure 
and temperature, weighing 1.22 ounces, or about one seven 
hundred and seventieth part of the weight of an equal volume of 
water. In consequence of this weight it exerts a certain pressure 
upon the surface of the earth, amounting on the average to 15 
pounds for each square inch. To accurately measure this 
pressure, which is constantly undergoing slight changes, we 
ordinarily employ a mercurial barometer, an instrument in which 
the weight of a column of air of given cross section is balanced 
against that of a column of mercury having an equal cross sec¬ 
tion; and instead of saying that the pressure of the atmosphere 
is a certain number of pounds on each square inch, we say that 
it is a certain number of inches of mercury, meaning thereby 

*See W. B. Bulletins of May 16th and May 28th, 1921, and subsequent 
issues for full instructions as to radio forecasts. Improvement is so rapid 
instructions are not printed here. Bulletins are free to mariners at W. B. 
Stations. 


WEATHER AT SEA 


811 


that it is equivalent to the pressure of a column of mercury that 
many inches in height, and one square inch in cross section. 

All gases, air included, are highly sensitive to the action of 
heat, expanding or increasing in volume as the temperature rises, 
contracting or diminishing in volume as the temperature falls. 
Suppose now that the atmosphere over any considerable region 
of the earth’s surface is maintained at a higher temperature than 
that of its surroundings. The warmed air will expand, and its 
upper layers will flow off to the surrounding regions, cooling as 
they go. The atmospheric pressure at sea level throughout the 
heated areas will thus be diminished, while that over the circum¬ 
jacent cooler areas will be correspondingly increased. As the 
result of this difference of pressure, there will be movement of 
the surface air away from the region of high pressure and 
towards the region of low, somewhat similar to the flow of water 
which takes place through the connecting bottom sluice as soon 
as we attempt to fill one compartment of a divided vessel to a 
slightly higher level than that found in the other. 

A difference of atmospheric pressure at sea level is thus im¬ 
mediately followed by a movement of the surface air, or by 
winds; and these differences of pressure have their origin in 
differences of temperature. If the atmosphere were everywhere 
of uniform temperature it would lie at rest on the earth’s surface 
—sluggish, torpid and oppressive—and there would be no winds. 
This, however, is fortunately not the case. The temperature of 
the atmosphere is continually or periodically higher in one region 
than in another, and the chief variations in the distribution of 
temperature are systematically repeated year after year, giving 
rise to like systematic variations in the distribution of pressure. 

The Normal Distribution of Pressure .—The winds, while thus 
due primarily to differences of temperature, stand in more direct 
relation to differences of pressure, and it is from this point of 
view that they are ordinarily studied. 

In order to furnish a comprehensive view of the distribution of 
atmospheric pressure over the earth’s surface, charts have been 
prepared showing the average reading of the barometer for any 
given period, whether a month, a season, or a year, and covering 
as far as possible the entire globe. These are as isobaric charts. 

The relation as existing between the distribution of atmospheric 
pressure and the direction of the wind is of the greatest impor¬ 
tance. It may be briefly stated as follows: 

In the northern hemisphere stand with the back to the wind; 
in this position the region of high barometer lies on your right 
hand and somewhat behind you; the region of low barometer on 
your left hand and somewhat in front of you. 

In the southern hemisphere stand with the back to the wind; 
in this position the region of high barometer lies on your left 


812 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


hand and somewhat behind you; the region of low barometer on 
your right hand and somewhat in front of you. 

This relation holds absolutely, not only in the case of the 
general distribution of pressure and circulation of the atmos¬ 
phere, but also in the case of the special conditions of high and 
low pressure which usually accompany severe gales. 

The Trade Winds .—The Trade Winds blow from the tropical 
belts of high pressure towards the equatorial belt of low pres¬ 
sure—in the northern hemisphere from the northeast, in the 
southern hemisphere from the southeast. Over the eastern half 
of each of the great oceans they extend considerably farther 
from the line and their original direction inclines more towards 
the pole than in mid-ocean, where the latter is almost easterly. 
They are ordinarily looked upon as the most constant of winds, 
but while they may blow for days or even for weeks with slight 
variation in direction or strength, their uniformity should not be 
exaggerated. There are times when the trade winds weaken 
or shift. There are regions where their steady course is de¬ 
formed, notably among the island groups of the South Pacific, 
where the trades during January and February are practically 
non-existent. They attain their highest development in the 
South Atlantic and in the South Indian Ocean, and are every¬ 
where fresher during the winter than during the summer season. 
They are rarely disturbed by cyclonic storms, the occurrence 
of the latter within the limits of the trade wind region being 
furthermore confined in point of time to the late summer and 
autumn months of the respective hemispheres, and in scene of 
action to the western portion of the several oceans. The South 
Atlantic Ocean alone, however, enjoys complete immunity from 
tropical cyclonic storms. 

The Doldrums .—The equatorial girdle of low pressure occu¬ 
pies a position between the high-pressure belt of the northern 
and the similar belt of the southern hemisphere. Throughout 
the extent of this barometric trough the pressure, save for the 
slight diurnal oscillation, is practically uniform, and decided 
barometric gradients do not exist. Here, accordingly, the winds 
sink to stagnation, or rise at most only to the strength of fitful 
breezes, coming first from one point of the compass, then from 
another, with cloudy, rainy sky and frequent thunderstorms. 
The region throughout which these conditions prevail consists of a 
wedge-shaped area, the base of the wedge resting in the case of 
the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Africa, and in the case of the 
Pacific Ocean on the coast of America, the axis extending west¬ 
ward. The position and extent of the belt vary somewhat with 
the season. Throughout February and March it is found im¬ 
mediately north of the equator and is of inappreciable width, 
vessels following the usual sailing routes frequently passing from 


WEATHER AT SEA 


813 


trade to trade without interruption in both the Atlantic and the 
Pacific Oceans. In July and August it has migrated to the 
northward, the axis extending east and west along the parallel 
of 7° north, and the belt itself covering several degrees of lati¬ 
tude, even at its narrowest point. At this season of the year, 
also, the southeast trades blow with diminished freshness across 
the equator and well into the northern hemisphere, being here 
diverted, however, by the effect of the earth’s rotation, into 
southerly and southwesterly winds, the so-called southwest 
monsoon of the African and Central American coasts. 

The Horse Latitudes .—On the outer margin of the trades, 
corresponding vaguely with the summit of the tropical ridge of 
high pressure in either hemisphere, is a second region through¬ 
out which the barometric gradients are faint and undecided, and 
the prevailing winds correspondingly light and variable, the so- 
called horse latitudes , or calms of Cancer and of Capricorn. 
Unlike the doldrums, however, the weather is here clear and 
fresh, and the periods of stagnation are intermittent rather than 
continuous, showing none of the persistency which is so charac¬ 
teristic of the equatorial region. The explanation of this differ¬ 
ence will become obvious as soon as we come to study the nature 
of the daily barometric changes of pressure in the respective 
regions, these in the one case being marked by the uniformity of 
the torrid zone, in the other sharing to a limited extent in the 
wide and rapid variations of the temperate. 

The Prevailing Westerly Winds .—On the exterior or polar 
side of the tropical maxima the pressure again diminishes, the 
barometric gradients being now directed towards the pole; and 
the currents of air set in motion along these gradients, diverted 
to the right and left of their natural course by the earth’s rota¬ 
tion, appear in the northern hemisphere as southwesterly winds, 
in the southern hemisphere as northwesterly—the prevailing 
westerly winds of the temperate zone. 

Only in the southern hemisphere do these winds exhibit any¬ 
thing approaching the persistency of the trades, their course in 
the northern hemisphere being subject to frequent local inter¬ 
ruption by periods of winds from the eastern semicircle. Thus 
the tabulated results show that throughout the portion of the 
North Atlantic included between the parallels 40°-50° North, and 
the meridians 10°-50° West, the winds from the western semi¬ 
circle (South—NNW.) comprise about 74 per cent of the whole 
number of observations, the relative frequency being somewhat 
higher in winter, somewhat lower in summer. The average 
force, on the other hand, decreases from force 6 to force 4 Beau¬ 
fort scale, with the change of season. Over the sea in the 
southern hemisphere such variations are not apparent; here the 
westerlies blow through the entire year with a steadiness little 


814 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


less than that of the trades themselves, and with a force which, 
though fitful, is very much greater, their boisterous nature giving 
the name of the “ Roaring Forties ” to the latitudes in which 
they are most frequently observed. 

The explanation of this striking difference in the extra-tropical 
winds of the two halves of the globe is found in the distribution 
of atmospheric pressure, and in the variations which this latter 
undergoes in different parts of the world. In the landless south¬ 
ern hemisphere the atmospheric pressure after crossing the 
parallel of 30° South diminishes almost uniformly towards the 
pole, and is rarely disturbed by those large and irregular fluctu¬ 
ations which form so important a factor in the daily weather of 
the northern hemisphere. Here, accordingly, a system of polar 
gradients exists quite comparable in stability with the equa¬ 
torial gradients which give rise to the trades; and the poleward 
movement of the air in obedience to these gradients, constantly 
diverted to the left by the effect of the earth’s rotation, consti¬ 
tutes the steady westerly winds of the south temperate zone. 

The Monsoon Winds .—The air over the land is warmer in 
summer and colder in winter than that over the adjacent oceans. 
During the former season the continents thus become the seat 
of areas of relatively low pressure; during the latter of relatively 
high. Pressure gradients, directed outward during the winter, 
inward during the summer, are thus established between the 
land and the sea, which exercise the greatest influence over the 
winds prevailing in the region adjacent to the coast. Thus, off 
the Atlantic seaboard of the United States southwesterly winds 
are most frequent in summer, northwesterly winds in winter; 
while on the Pacific coast the reverse is true, the wind here 
changing from northwest to southwest with the advance of the 
colder season. 

The most striking illustration of winds of this class is presented 
by the monsoons ( Mausum , season) of the China Sea and of the 
Indian Ocean. In January abnormally low temperatures and 
high pressure obtain over the Asiatic plateau, high temperatures 
and low pressure over Australia and the nearby portion of the 
Indian Ocean. As a result of the baric gradients thus estab¬ 
lished, the southern and eastern coast of the vast Asiatic conti¬ 
nent and the seas adjacent thereto are swept by an outflowing 
current of air, which, diverted to the right of the gradient by the 
earth’s rotation, appears as a northeast wind, covering the China 
Sea and the northern Indian Ocean. Upon entering the southern 
hemisphere, however, the same force which hitherto deflected 
the moving air to the right of the gradient now serves to deflect 
it to the left; and here, accordingly, we have the monsoon 
appearing as a northwest wind, covering the Indian Ocean as far 
south as 10°, the Arafura Sea, and the northern coast of Australia. 


WEATHER AT SEA 


815 


In July these conditions are precisely reversed. Asia is now 
the seat of high temperature and correspondingly low pressure, 
Australia of low temperature and high pressure, although the 
departure from the annual average is by no means so pronounced 
in the case of the latter as in that of the former. The baric 
gradients thus lead across the equator and are addressed toward 
the interior of the greater continent, giving rise to a system of 
winds whose direction is southeast in the southern hemisphere, 
southwest in the northern. 

The northeast (winter) monsoon blows in the China Sea from 
October to April, the southwest (summer) monsoon from May 
to September. The former is marked by all the steadiness of 
the trades, often attaining the force of a moderate gale; the latter 
appears as a light breeze, unsteady in direction, and often sinking 
to a calm. Its prevalence is frequently interrupted by tropical 
cyclonic storms, locally known as typhoons , although the occur¬ 
rence of these latter may extend well into the season of the 
winter monsoon. 

Land and Sea Breezes. —Corresponding with the season con¬ 
trast of temperature and pressure over land and water, there is 
likewise a diurnal contrast which exercises a similar though more 
local effect. In summer particularly, the land over its whole area 
is warmer than the sea by day, colder than the sea by night, the 
variations of pressure thus established, although insignificant, 
sufficing to evoke a system of littoral breezes directed landward 
during the daytime, seaward during the night, which, in general, 
do not penetrate to a distance greater than 30 miles on and off 
shore, and extend but a few hundred feet into the depths of the 
atmosphere. 

The sea breeze begins in the morning hours—from 9 to 11 
o’clock—as the land warms. In the late afternoon it dies away. 
In the evening the land breeze springs up, and blows gently out 
to sea until morning. In the tropics this process is repeated day 
after day with great regularity. In the temperate zones these 
land and sea breezes are often masked by winds of cyclonic 

origin- _ 

The Mistral is a cold dry northwest wind blowing in the Gulf 
of Lyons and vicinity. 

The Sirocco comes off the high land of Africa carrying the dry 
air of the Sahara across the Mediterranean. 

The Tramontana or Gli Secchi blows down the Adriatic. It is 
a dangerous wind to small powered craft and sailers in that 

ancient sea. . 

The Levanter is a prevailing easterly wind on the African coast 


in auiiJ-inci. 

The Harmattan is a hot east wind blowing off the land on the 
west coast of Africa often laden with dust filling the air with a 
thick haze a long way off the coast. 


816 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Solano is another African wind blowing across the sea to 
Spain and is also charged with dust. 

Many local names are found in the great inland sea where sail¬ 
ors first began. Solano, Bentu de Sole and Chocolatero for 
east winds. Mezzo giorno, Simoom, and Siume for southerly 
winds. Ponente, and Liberator for west winds. Gregale and 
Bora for northeast winds. Sirocco Maledetto (evil), Levante, 
Molezzo, and Furiante (when strong) for the southeast winds. 
Vendavales, Lebeches, Virazones, Labachades (when squally), 
Ouragani (when tempestuous), Labbetch, and Siffanto for south¬ 
west winds. Mistral, Mistrasau, Bize, Grippe, Vent de cers, 
Maestrale , and Mamatate (when light) for northwest winds. 
Provenzale , for north, northwest winds. Imbattu for sea- 
breezes Rampinu for land-breezes. Raggiature for land 
squalls. Burrasche and Raffiche for hard squalls. Bonaccia 
for calms, and Golfada for hard gales. 

The Nortes are northerly gales blowing in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Pamperos are severe southwesterly gales from the great 
prairies of Argentine southward of the River Plate. They blow 
with the violence of a hurricane expending themselves in the 
South Atlantic. In the old days no Cape Horn voyage was 
complete without at least one pampero. 

Papagayo and Tehuantepec are local names for strong gales 
blowing in a northeasterly direction off the coasts of Nicaragua 
and Guatemala. 

Willi Waws are strong wind gusts blowing down from the 
steep mountain sides in the Magellan Straits, Gibraltar, and 
any place where high steep hills hedge in the land bordering the 
sea. These are erratic winds and very dangerous as they may 
sweep along at a terrific rate a short distance above the surface 
of the water, giving no sign of their approach to the sailor. In 
Magellan they are often detected by the snow particles swept 
off the mountains, and appear a white blur. 

Squalls are sudden violent gusts of wind of greater or less 
duration. Clouds and sea generally herald their approach. 
A black squall is dark and threatening and generally attended 
with rain. A white squall is a furious blow often met with on 
the African Coast unannounced by any other sign than the 
white caps, and by a rushing sound, and often by a whitish 
haze. Rain generally follows it. 

V 

Pilot Charts 

Merchant seamen of all nations have cause to be grateful to the 
Government of the United States for the invaluable assistance 


WEATHER AT SEA 


817 


rendered them by the pilot charts issued by the Hydrographic 
Office of the U. S. Navy. Indeed every branch of the vast 
business of shipping derives incalculable benefit from this 
service so freely rendered and so ably planned and carried out. 
It is really the most monumental system of international co¬ 
operation in existence today. Thousands of vessels, in all 
parts of the world are daily adding their fund of standardized 
observations to the general knowledge of the weather.* 

These observations, tabulated and digested by the Weather 
Bureau of the United States, in conjunction with the systematized 
observations of this service itself, stretching from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, form the basis for the pilot charts issued by the 
Hydrographic Office. The tidal and current data, and other 
information sent in by sea observers is worked over by the 
experts of this office and forms the basis for the vast amount 
of useful information plotted on these charts. The following 
notice is printed on the pilot charts: 

Reports on Features of Pilot Charts and to Whom Made 

That mariners may be fully informed as to the participation 
of the Hydrographic Office, Navy Department, and the Weather 
Bureau, Department of Agriculture, in the collection and com¬ 
pilation of data for the several Pilot Charts, and that they may 
know to which office to send observations, attention is called to 
the following: 

Hydrographic Office .—The Hydrographic Office collects and 
compiles data on the following features, reports upon which 
should be made to the nearest of the Branch Hydrographic 
Offices (in order that no time may be lost in transmission and 
publication, and that said Branch Hydrographic Offices may keep 
in touch with all observers arriving in their respective districts) 
or to the Hydrographic Office in Washington: 


Ice, coastwise, field, and berg. 
Derelicts. 

Wrecks. 

Floating wreckage, etc. 

Buoys adrift. 

Location of fishing banks, whales, 
and seals. 

Currents, ocean and tidal. 


Rocks, shoals, and other dangers. 

Radio telegraph stations. 

Gale and storm signals of foreign 
countries. 

All questions relating to navigation and 
seamanship. 

Maneuvering vessels at sea during 
storms. 


*The British Meteorological Office also issues monthly weather charts, but 
their information is still behind that of the American charts. 


818 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Variation of the compass. Great sea waves. 

Steam and sail routes. Soundings. 

Discolored water. Sailing directions. 

Navigational methods, charts, books, Seismic shocks at sea. 
and instruments. Port facilities. 

Calming seas with oil. 

Changes in aids to navigation. 

Weather Bureau .—The Weather Bureau collects and com¬ 
piles data upon the following features that appear on the Pilot 
Charts, reports upon which should be made to said Bureau: 

Pressure, barometric. Fog, percentage of. 

Temperature of air. Storm tracks, course of and rate of 

Winds, average direction and force of. travel. 

Calms, percentage of. Statement of past average conditions 

Gales, percentage of. of wind and weather. 

Trade-wind limits. Rains, equatorial region. 

Every person interested in this important branch of human 
progress should read a pamphlet called “ The Marine Meteoro¬ 
logical Service of the United States,” by W. E. Hurd, sent free 
of charge by the Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 
upon application. 

VI 

Data on Cyclonic Storms 
Prepared by the Hydrographic Office, U. S. Navy 
Early Indications of the Approach of a Storm 
The occurrence of tropical cyclonic storms is confined to the 
summer and autumn months of the respective hemispheres and 
to the western parts of the several oceans—the North Atlantic, 
North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian oceans. They are 
unknown in the South Atlantic. The Arabian Sea and Bay of 
Bengal are also visited by cyclonic storms, which occur most 
frequently in May and October. 

In the Atlantic the occurrence of these storms is confined 
almost exclusively to the period June-November, attaining a 
maximum frequency in September and October. The number 
actually occurring is probably somewhat greater than the number 
recorded. The limited area of the storm within the Tropics 
(the diameter of the area of violent winds is here frequently less 
than 100 miles) and the scarcity of observing vessels in the 


WEATHER AT SEA 


819 


region throughout which the storms manifest their greatest 
activity make it probable that a considerable percentage escape 
observation. The occurrence during the eleven-year period, 
1890-1900, according to the records of the United States Hydro- 
graphic Office, was as follows: 


Occurrence of West India Hurricanes * 



Figure 1 shows in general the path of a storm in the North 
Atlantic. 

In south latitude the storm season is from September to May, 
February and March being the worst months. It would thus 
appear that in both hemispheres the storm season corresponds 
to the time when the sun is approaching the equator on its return 
from the greatest declination north or south. Fig. 2 shows the 
general path of a storm in the South Pacific. 

During the season of tropical storms whatever interferes with 
the regularity of the diurnal oscillation of the barometer should 
be considered an indication of a change of weather. The 
barometer is by no means an infallible guide for warnings much 
in advance, but after the beginning of the storm it will more or 
less accurately indicate the rapidity of approach and distance from 
the center, and its indications should in no case be disregarded. 

One of the earliest indications of the approach of a tropical 
storm is the appearance of the sky and general clearness of the 
atmosphere. Tropical cyclonic storms are almost invariably 
preceded by a day of unusual clearness, when distant objects 
not usually visible stand out with great distinctness. The 
temperature at such times is more than usually oppressive. 

This is frequently accompanied by an unusually high barom¬ 
eter. Later it may be followed by a restless oscillating or 
pumping of the mercury caused by the disturbed condition of the 

*Over a thirty-five year period West India hurricanes have occurred as 
follows—May, 1; June, 8; July, 5; August, 23; September, 43; October, 42; 
November, 2. According to U. S. Weather Bureau Records. 


























820 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


atmosphere. Then the sky becomes overcast and remains so, 
at first with a delicate cirrus haze, which shows no disposition 
to clear away at sunset, but which later becomes gradually 


so* 70- 



more and more dense until the dark mass of the true hurricane 
cloud appears upon the horizon. From the main body of this 
cloud portions are detached from time to time and drift across 





















WEATHER AT SEA 


821 


the sky, their progress marked by squalls of rain and wind of 
increasing force. Rain, indeed, forms one of the most prominent 
features of the storm. In the outer portions it is fine and mist- 


<80° 170° 


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Fig. 2. Average cyclone path South Pacific 


like, with occasional showers these latter increasing in fre¬ 
quency and in copiousness. In the neighborhood of the center 
it falls in torrents. The rain area extends farther in advance of 
the storm than in the rear. 

























































































822 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A long swell from the direction of the storm frequently sets in 
before any other indications become marked. 

When the sky first becomes overcast with the characteristic 
veil of cirrus the storm center will most probably lie in the direc¬ 
tion of the greatest density of the cloud. 

When the hurricane cloud appears over the horizon it will be 
densest at the storm center. 

By this time the barometer will usually be showing unmistak¬ 
able evidence of a fall, and one may confidently look for a storm 
and begin observations to determine the location of its center 
and the direction in which it is moving. 

Surrounding the actual storm area is a territory of large extent 
throughout which the barometer reads a tenth of an inch or more 
below the average, the pressure diminishing toward the central 
area, but with no such rapidity as is noted within that area itself. 
Throughout the outer ring unsettled weather prevails. The sky 
is ordinarily covered with a light haze, which increases in density 
as the center of the storm approaches. Showers are frequent. 
Throughout the northern semicircle of this area (in the northern 
hemisphere) the wind rises to force 6 or 8—the “ reinforced 
trades ”—and is accompanied by squalls; throughout the other 
semicircle unsettled winds, generally from a southeasterly direc¬ 
tion, prevail. 

Position of Center 

It is very important to determine as early as possible the loca¬ 
tion and direction of travel of the center. 

While this can not be done with absolute accuracy with one 
set of observations, a sufficiently close approximation can be 
arrived at to enable the vessel to maneuver to the best advantage. 

Since the wind circulates against the sun in the northern 
hemisphere the rule in that hemisphere is to face the wind and 
the storm center will be on the right hand. In the southern 
hemisphere, under the same circumstances, the center is to the 
left. If the wind traveled in exact circles, the center would be 
eight points to the right when looking directly in the wind’s eye. 
We have seen, however, that the wind follows more or less a 
spiral path inwards, which brings the center from eight to twelve 
points to the right of the direction of the wind. 


WEATHER AT SEA 


823 


The number of points to the right may vary during the same 
storm, and as the wind usually shifts in squalls its direction 
should be taken just after a squall. 



The center will bear more nearly eight points from the direc¬ 
tion of the lower clouds than from that of the surface wind. 

Ten points to the right (left in South latitude) when facing the 
wind is a good average allowance to make, but a larger allowance 

























824 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


should be made when in front of the storm center than when in 
its rear. 

The approximate direction of the storm center is a compara¬ 
tively easy matter to determine. The direction in which it is 
moving may be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy from the 
charted paths of similar storms which have been observed 
before. It will be seen from Fig. 3, “ Hurricane Tracks in the 
North Atlantic,” that in this region the storms follow in general a 
northwesterly course until between latitudes 25° and 30°, when 
they recurve and go to the eastward of north. In the North 
Pacific they follow the same general course on the coast of 
Asia, but recurve as a rule in lower latitudes than in the Atlantic. 
(See Fig. 4.) 

The average tracks of the different classes of typhoons are the 
result of a study of 244 of these storms which occurred during 
the period 1884-1897, and are taken from the report of the 
Director of the Hongkong Observatory for 1897. The relative 
frequency of each class, and the period during which it is apt to 
occur, are given in the following table (see also Pilot Chart of 
the North Pacific for July, 1898) :* 


Class 

Frequency 

Period 

Ia« 

Per cent. 
10 

Middle of June to end of September. 

I a/3 

12 

Middle of July to middle of October. 

lb 

0 

Late in the year. 

1c 

4 

June to the end of September. 

Id 

2 

May to September, inclusive. 

11a 

2 

July, August, and September. 

lib 

7 

August and September. 

11c 

3 

June to September. Maximum in July. 

lid 

4 

July and August. 

III a 

1 % 

October and November. 

Illb 

1 

October. 

IIIc 

4 

July, August, and September. 

IIIc? 

15 

June to October. Most frequent in August and Sep¬ 

Ille 

12l/ 2 

tember. 

May to December. 

IVaa 

81/2 

May to December. Rare in August. 

IVa/3 

3 

Beginning and end of typhoon season. 

IV b 

41/2 

September 1 to December 1. Most common in 

IVc 

4 

November. 

Beginning and end of typhoon season. Most fre¬ 

TVd 

1 

quent in May. 

April and December. 


*The reader is referred to Atlas Of Typhoon Tracks , 1893-1918 , by Louis 
Froc, S. J., Director, Zi-ka-wei Observatory, China. Printed in Weather 
of the Oceans , Aug., 1920. See page 875. 








WEATHER AT SEA 


825 



Fig. 4 


140 ' 














































































826 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The distance away from the storm center can only be estimated 
very imperfectly. The following old table from Piddington’s 
“ Horn Book ” may serve as a slight guide to this end, but too 
much reliance can not be placed upon it: 

Average fall of barometer per hour. Distance in miles from center. 

From 0.02 to 0.06 inch.From 250 to 150. 

From 0.06 to 0.08 inch.From 150 to 100. 

From 0.08 to 0.12 inch.From 100 to 80. 

From 0.12 to 0.15 inch.From 80 to 50. 

With storms of varying area and different intensities the lines 
of equal barometric pressure (isobars) must lie much closer 
together in some cases than in others, so that it is quite impossible 
to more than guess at the distance of the center by the height 
of the mercury or its rate of fall. 

At the same time storms travel at varying rates of progression. 
In the Tropics this ranges from 5 to 20 miles per hour, always 
decreasing as the storm track turns northward and recurves, 
increasing again as it reaches the North Atlantic, where it may 
amount to as much as 50 miles per hour. Within the Tropics 
the storm area is small, the region of violent winds seldom 
extending more than 150 miles from the center. The barometer, 
however, falls rapidly as one progresses from the circumference 
toward the center, a difference of 2 inches having been observed 
in this distance. 

The winds accordingly blow with greater violence and are 
more symmetrically disposed around the center than is the case 
in higher latitudes. After the storm has recurved it usually 
widens out and becomes less severe, and its velocity of trans¬ 
lation increases as its rotational energy grows more moderate. 
Its center is no longer a well-defined area of small size marked 
by a patch of clear sky and near which the winds blow with the 
greatest violence. Out of the Tropics the strongest winds are 
often found at some distance from the center. 

The central patch of blue sky, or “ Bull’s-Eye,” is almost uni¬ 
versal in tropical storms, but seldom, if ever, occurs out of the 
Tropics. It would appear to be due to the increased intensity 
of rotation, and as this intensity falls off the Eye disappears. 

As the storms of greatest intensity are usually of compara- 






WEATHER AT SEA 


827 


tively small area with slow rates of progression it follows that 
could we have definite and early information of their position 
and prospective paths it would be an easy matter to avoid the 
locality of greatest severity. 

This, however, is clearly not possible. Even with the advan¬ 
tage of many simultaneous observations at stations some dis¬ 
tance apart, such as can be obtained on land by a regularly 
organized service, it is impossible to foretell with certainty the 
path of the approaching storm. 

The isolated observer on board ship then can do no more than 
exercise a wise discretion and act according to his best judgment, 
being guided by such observations as he has at hand. See page 
810 . 

Handling the Ship within Storm Area 

If from the weather indications given above, and such others 
as his experience has taught him, the navigator is led to believe 
in the approach of a storm, he should at once— 

First. Determine the bearing of the center. 

Second. Estimate its distance. 

Third. Plot its apparent path. 

The first two of the above determinations will locate the approx¬ 
imate position of the center, which should be marked on the 
chart. The relation between the position of the ship and the 
position and prospective track of the center will indicate the 
proper course to pursue. 

Should the ship be ahead of the storm center it may be 
assumed that the latter will draw nearer more or less directly. 
It then becomes of the utmost importance to determine its 
path and so learn whether the vessel is in the right or left semi¬ 
circle of the storm area. 

The right and left semicircles lie on the right and left hands, 
respectively, of an observer standing on the storm track and 
facing in the direction the center is moving. Owing to the 
difference in the direction of rotation of storms north and south 
of the equator that semicircle which lies between the path and 
the equator in both the northern and the southern hemispheres 
prior to the storms recurving (the left-hand semicircle in the 
northern hemisphere and the right-hand in the southern), is not 
so liable to the severest winds; and, when in it, it is easier to 


828 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


avoid the storm center. For this reason it is called the navigable 
semicircle, the right semicircle (left in south latitudes) on the 
other hand is called the dangerous semicircle.* 

In order to determine the path of the storm and consequently 
in which semicircle the ship finds herself, it is necessary to wait 
until the wind shifts.! When this occurs, plot a new position of 
the center 10 points to the right of the new direction of the wind 
as before, and the line joining these two positions will be the 
probable path of the storm. If the ship has not been stationary 
during the time between the two sets of observations (as will 
indeed never be the case unless at anchor), allowance must be 
made for the course and distance she has traveled in the interim. 

Two bearings of the center with an interval between of from 
two to three hours will, in general, be sufficient to determine the 
course of the storm, provided an accurate account is kept of the 
ship’s way, but if the storm be moving slowly a longer interval 
will be necessary. 

Should the wind not shift, but continue to blow steadily with 
increasing force, and with a falling barometer, it may be assumed 
that the vessel is on or near the storm track. Owing to the slow 
advance of storms in the Tropics, a vessel might come within the 
disturbed area through overtaking the center. In such a case a 
slight decrease in speed would probably be all that would be 
necessary, but it should be borne in mind that the storm path 
is by no means constant either in speed or direction, and that 
it is particularly liable to recurve away from the equator. 

In the cyclones of the Southern Indian ocean the best observers 
claim that the wind seldom, if ever, blows around the center. 
Instead of following the usual inward spiral path, the north¬ 
easterly and easterly winds of these storms blow almost directly 
toward the center and upward, rather than around it. 

Should the position of the vessel lie in advance of the storm 
center, the procedure to be followed will depend upon whether 
she is in the dangerous or navigable semicircle. The object in 
both cases should be to keep as far as possible from the center. 
Knowing the direction of rotation of storms in both hemispheres, 

*Some seamen consider the right hand semicircle safer for steamers. 
Wind is steadier, sea less confused. 

fNot always good. A ship caught in a southeast wind, if storm centre is 
advancing slowly, might be blown into storm track. 


WEATHER AT SEA 


829 


it will be clear that points lying on the right of the storm track 
(right semicircle) will, as the center approaches and passes, find 
the wind hauling, in the direction north, east, south, west. 

On the left of the track (left semicircle) the wind will shift in 
the reverse direction. Shifts of the wind usually come in heavy 
squalls, during which the wind will blow from the new direction, 
even though it may apparently shift back temporarily during the 
lull immediately following. 

N 



Fig. 5. 


It must not be forgotten that the shifts of wind will only occur 
in the above order when the vessel is stationary. When the 
course and speed are such as to maintain a constant relative 
bearing between the ship and storm center, there will be no 
shift of wind. Should the vessel be outrunning the storm, the 
wind will indeed shift in the opposite direction to that given, and a 
navigator in the right semicircle, for instance, and judging only 
by the shifts of wind without taking into account his own run, 
might imagine himself on the opposite side. In such a case the 












830 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


barometer must be the guide. If it falls, one is approaching the 
center; if it rises, one is receding. 

An examination of Fig. 5 shows how this is. A vessel hove 
to at the position marked 6, and being passed by the storm center, 
will occupy successive positions in regard to the center from b 
to b4, and will experience shifts of wind, as shown by the arrows, 
from East through South to SW. On the other hand, if the 
storm center be stationary or moving slowly and a vessel be 
overtaking it along the line from 64 to b , the wind will back from 
SW. to East, and is likely to convey an entirely wrong impression 
as the location and movement of the center. 

Hence it is recommended that a vessel suspecting the approach 
or proximity of a cyclonic storm should stop (if a sailing ship 
heave to on the starboard tack) for a while until the path of the 
center is located by observing the shifts of the wind and the 
behavior of the barometer. 

If the wind remains steady in direction and increases in force 
in heavy squalls while the barometer falls, the vessel is probably 
on or near the track of the storm and in advance of the center. 

In this position, with plenty of sea room, the proper course is 
to run with the wind well on the starboard quarter, if north of 
the equator, and on the port quarter if south. The vessel will 
thus be in the navigable semicircle and be constantly increasing 
her distance from the center. The wind will draw more forward 
as she recedes from the center, but the course first set should be 
adhered to until well clear. 

The procedure is the same if the observations place the ship 
anywhere within the navigable semicircle. 

The most critical situation is that of a vessel finding herself in 
the forward quadrant of the dangerous semicircle, particularly 
if at some distance from the center, where the wind shifts but 
slowly and the barometer indications are undecided. 

The general object, however, of putting as much distance as 
possible between oneself and the storm center should be kept in 
view. With steamers this may not be difficult, although, should 
the storm be recurving, the course first set may have to be sub¬ 
sequently altered in order to continue to draw away. A sailing 
vessel will be set by the wind directly toward the path of the 
storm and may become involved with the center without being 


WEATHER AT SEA 


831 


able to avoid it. If so caught in the dangerous semicircle, a 
sailing vessel should haul by the wind on the starboard tack 
(on the port tack in south latitude), keep coming up as the wind 
draws aft, and carry sail as long as the weather permits. If 
obliged to heave to, do so on the starboard tack in north latitude 
and on the port tack in south latitude. 

This maneuver, while it may not carry a vessel clear of the 
storm track, will make the best of a bad situation. 

A vessel so hove to will find the shifts of wind drawing aft, 
enabling her to come up to them instead of being headed off, 
as would be the case on the other tack. 

Moreover, since the sea changes its direction less rapidly than 
the wind, the vessel will come up more nearly head on to the old 
sea, instead of having it more abeam as on the opposite tack. 

A general rule for heaving to is always heave to on whichever 
tack permits the shifts of wind to draw aft. 

If, in spite of all endeavors, the storm center should pass 
directly over a vessel she will experience a short period of calm, 
but the seas will be high, confused, and dangerous, being swept 
in from all directions. After a short interval the wind will burst 
with hurricane force from a point directly opposite to that from 
which it was blowing before, and the vessel must be prepared to 
meet it and to avoid being caught aback. 

Should steamers find it necessary to heave to the method of 
doing so must depend upon the position within the storm area. 
Many steamers find it preferable to heave to stern to sea, with 
engines turning over slowly, and drive before it. 

Should this course be followed in the dangerous semicircle a 
steamer would in all probability be running directly into the 
center of the storm, where the high and confused seas would be 
more than likely to inflict damage. When obliged to heave to 
in the dangerous semicircle steamers should keep the wind a 
little on the starboard bow in north latitude, and on the port 
bow in south latitude, and make as much headway as the con¬ 
ditions will allow. 

The situation is complicated in the southern Indian Ocean by 
the presence of the belt of intensified southeast trades to the 
southward of the storm tracks, in which belt the wind may in¬ 
crease in force with a falling barometer, while remaining steady 

30 




832 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


in direction. Under such conditions there are no means of 
telling whether one is within the storm area proper or merely in 
the belt of intensified trades. 

If, in the latter case, one were to heave to there is a good 
chance of being caught by the storm recurving or at the best 
undergoing a needless loss of time. On the other hand, to run 
off to the northwestward may bring one directly in the path of the 
storm. 

A rule which in practice has been found to meet the situation 
fairly well is as follows: If well to the eastward of Mauritius and 
the indications point to being either in the southwest quadrant 
of a storm or in the intensified trades, with no means of deter¬ 
mining which, one should follow the regular rule and heave to, 
making as much southing as possible. If, however, one is in 
the neighborhood of Mauritius, one should run to the north¬ 
westward and endeavor to get between that island and Mada¬ 
gascar, where usually better weather will be found. The 
attempt to cross the track ahead of a storm in the Indian Ocean 
may be made with better chance of success there than else¬ 
where, since the storms of this region appear to travel more 
slowly than in other parts of the world. 

Figure 5 represents a cyclonic storm in the northern hemis¬ 
phere after recurving. For simplicity the area of low barometer 
is made perfectly circular and the center is assumed to be ten 
points to the right of the direction of the wind at all points within 
the disturbed area. Let us assume that the center is advancing 
about NNE., in the direction of the long arrow, shown in heavy 
full line. The ship a has the wind at ENE.; she is to the left 
of the track, or technically in the navigable semicircle. The 
ship b has the wind at ESE. and is in the dangerous semicircle. 
As the storm advances these ships, if lying to, a upon the port 
tack, b upon the starboard tack, as shown, take with regard to 
the storm center the successive positions a a, etc., b b> etc., the 
wind of ship a shifting to the left, of ship b to the right, or in 
both cases drawing aft, and thus diminishing the probability of 
either ship being struck aback, a danger to which a vessel lying 
to on the opposite tack (i. e., the starboard tack in the left-hand 
semicircle or the port tack in the right-hand semicircle) is con¬ 
stantly exposed, the wind in the latter case tending constantly to 




WEATHER AT SEA 


833 


draw forward. The ship b is continually beaten by wind and sea 
toward the storm track. The ship a is drifted away from the 
track and should she be able to carry sail would soon find better 
weather by running off to the westward. 

Rules for Maneuvering 

The rules for maneuvering may be summed up as follows: 

Northern Hemisphere 

Right or Dangerous Semicircle .—Steamers: Bring the wind 
on the starboard bow, make as much way as possible, and if 
obliged to heave to do so head to the sea. Sailing vessels: 
Keep close hauled on the starboard tack, make as much way as 
possible, and if obliged to heave to do so on the starboard tack. 

Left or Navigable Semicircle .—Steam and sailing vessels: 
Bring the wind on the starboard quarter, note the course and 
hold it. If obliged to heave to steamers may do so stern to sea; 
sailing vessels on the port tack. 

On the Storm Track in Front of Center. —Steam and sailing 
vessels: Run for the left semicircle with wind on starboard 
quarter, and when in that semicircle maneuver as above. 

On the Storm Track in Rear of Center. —Avoid it by the best 
practicable route, having due regard for the storms recurving 
to the northward and eastward. 

Southern Hemisphere 

Left or Dangerous Semicircle.— Steamers: Bring the wind on 
the port bow, make as much way as possible, and if obliged to 
heave to do so head to sea. Sailing vessels: Keep close hauled 
on the port tack, make as much way as possible, and if obliged 
to heave to do so on the port tack. 

Right or Navigable Semicircle.— Steam and sailing vessels: 
Bring the wind on the port quarter, note the course and hold it. 
If obliged to heave to, steamers may do so stern to sea; sailing 
vessels on the starboard tack. 


834 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 



Isobars of World on Nov. 9, 1913. Plotted by F. G. Tingley , U. S. W. B. 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH ATLANTIC 


835 


VII 


Weather on the Oceans of the World 

From data compiled by the U. S. Weather Bureau, as published on Pilot 
Charts issued by the U. S. Hydrographic Office. 

From the millions of observations taken since the work of 
systematic study was founded by Maury, many valuable deduc¬ 
tions have been made with regard to the weather at sea. 

The monthly forecasts based upon these observations are 
printed in Standard Seamanship with the hope that they will be 
more useful in this form than when widely scattered on the 
pilot charts where they are printed for the current month. Here 
the reader may easily follow changes from month to month 
by referring to the pilot chart at hand, or to the general ocean 
chart of any area under investigation. 

NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN 


January 


Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 


Pressure .—The range of pressure is the same as for December. The minimum 
29.60 inches, marks the vicinity of the Iceland Low; the maximum, 30.20 inches, 
appears as two small areas, one east of the 19th meridian between the 29th and 
39th parallels, the other in mid-ocean between latitudes 25° and 30° N. A belt 
of moderately low piessure along the Equator averages 29.90 inches. 

Temperature .—The temperature has risen slightly near the British Isles and 
off the coasts of France and Portugal and ranges over this region between 40° 
and 55°. Elsewhere it has fallen 3° to 8°. Along the American coast the tempera¬ 
ture ranges from 20° at Cape Ray to 67° at Key West. It is 75° to 78° in the 
Caribbean Sea and 80° or slightly higher over the extreme southern part of the 
ocean. Along the northern trans-Atlantic routes the mean is from 30° to 50°. 

Westerly Winds and Gales .—North of the 40th parallel westerly winds, force 6, 
predominate from coast to coast. Between the 40th and 35th parallels the wester¬ 
lies prevail from the American coast to the Azores; between the 30th and 35th 
parallels they extend eastward to the 45th meridian. Over this region the per¬ 
centage of southwesterly to northwesterly gales has increased with the approach 
of midwinter, reaching their greatest development during this month. The highest 
percentages, 30 to 39, occur west of Scotland. Frequent snow squalls, with winds 
that sometimes attain huriicane force, accompany the passage of lows along the 


northern trans-Atlantic routes. . , .. 

The Trade Winds .—The northeast trades are fairly constant over most of the 
ocean south of the 26th parallel, but low with greatest steadiness between the 
5th and 20th parallels. The southeast trades, force 3 to 4, extend about 2 degrees 
north of the Equator between 15° and 40° west longitude. Southwesterly winds 
prevail in the Gulf of Guinea. . , .. on ,. 

Calms .—The highest percentage of calms, 17 to 30, occurs east of the 20th 
meridian between latitudes 5° and 10° N. The percentage is 11 to 15 south of 
the 5th parallel between longitudes 35° W. and 0°, and 8 to 11 immediately south 
of the area of high pressure in mid-ocean. Throughout the West Indies the per- 
C6nt^£[6 is 6 to 9# 

Northers .—Northers sometimes occur in the Gulf of Mexico and along the 
coast southward to Colon. These storms are generally preceded by a slight fall 
in the barometer, but the gale itself is accompanied by a rapid rise. 

Fog.—The maximum area, 30 to 35 per cent of days with fog, continues south¬ 
east of Newfoundland. An elongated area, percentage 10 to 15, occurs east of 
the 30th meridian and north of the 41st parallel. South of this parallel, except 
along the American coast to Hatteras, the ocean is practically free from fog. 


February 

Pressure .—There has been little change in the pressure distribution since 
January. The Iceland Low remains unchanged, the isobar of 29.60 inches appear- 


836 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH ATLANTIC 


ing north of the 55th parallel. The crest of the Azores High, 30.20 inches, occupies 
an elongated area in middle latitudes south of those islands. A shallow trough of 
low pressure, 29.90 inches, extends along the Equator. 

Temperature. —The temperature along the American coast ranges from 15° 
at Belle Isle to 70° at Key West, a slight fall having occurred in the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence and a slight rise off the South Atlantic States. In the Caribbean Sea, 
it is between 75° and 78°, and about 80° near the Equator. Off the European and 
African coasts the temperature ranges between 40° and 80°, and along the northern 
trans-Atlantic routes between 30° and 50°. 

Westerly Winds and Gales. —Westerly winds, force 5 to 6, pievail over the 
ocean north of the 35th parallel. The percentage of gales has fallen north of the 
45th parallel and has risen between the 35th and 45th parallels. Frequent snow 
squalls, with winds that sometimes attain hurricane force, accompany the passage 
of lows along the northern trans-Atlantic routes. 

The Trade Winds. —The northeast trades cover most of the ocean south of the 
25th parallel and extend almost to the Equator. Along the African coast they 
prevail as far north as the 30th parallel. 

The southeast trades extend slightly north of the Equator between the 15th 
and 30th meridians, but they are weak and frequently fall to a calm. 

Southwesterly winds prevail in the Gulf of Guinea. 

Calms. —The highest percentage of calms, 15 to 25, occurs between the north¬ 
east and southeast trades east of the 30th meridian. The percentage is also high 
over most of the region between the 20th and 30th parallels. 

Northers. —Northers sometimes occur in the Gulf of Mexico and along the 
coast southward to Colon. These storms are generally preceded by a slight fall 
in the barometer, but the gale itself is accompanied by a rapid rise. 

Fog. —The maximum area, 30 to 35 per cent of days with fog, continues south¬ 
east of Newfoundland. An elongated area, percentage 10 to 15, occurs northeast 
of the Azores. A small area, percentage 10 to 15, is found in mid-ocean north of 
the 50th parallel. The ocean is practically free from fog along the northern trans- 
Atlantic routes between the 10th and 40th meridians, and also ovei the region south 
of the 40th parallel, except along the American coast to Hatteras. 

March 

Pressure. —The crest of the high pressure area south of the Azores has decreased 
from 30.20 to 30.15 inches since February. The high pressure has also decreased 
in extent; its central area now lies between the 17th and 42d meridians. The 
Iceland Low is filling in with the approach of spring, and the pressure has increased 
from 29.60 to 29.70 inches north of the 55th parallel. The trough of low pressure 
along the Equator has remained practically unchanged since February, ranging 
about 29.90 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature over the northern trans-Atlantic routes and 
off the north Atlantic States has risen 3° to 8° since February, the greatest rise 
occurring in the fog area adjacent to the American coast. The mean temperature 
over the western part of the ocean ranges from 30° off Nova Scotia to 80° near the 
Equator. Over the eastern part of the ocean it ranges from 40° off Scotland to 80° 
south of Freetown, while along the northern trans-Atlantic routes it ranges between 
35° and 55°. 

Prevailing Westerlies and Gales. —The percentage of westerly winds is high 
north of the 40th parallel. Westerly winds are also found as far south as the 30th 
parallel between the 45th and 70th meridians. West of the 70th meridian the 
winds are north and northwest, with northwesterly gales. The percentage of 
gales over the region of westerly winds is moderate to high, being II to 22 per cent 
along the northern trans-Atlantic routes, and slightly higher north of the 55th 
parallel. 

There has been a general decrease in the percentage of gales since February 
over most of the ocean north of the 35th parallel, and a slight increase over most 
of the region south of it. 

The Trade Winds. —The northeast trades occupy most of the ocean south of 
the 25th parallel. They extend farther north over the Canary Islands, though their 
development in this region is not so marked. Along the African coast in the 
latitude of trades the winds are north-northeast, from 3 to 4, but west of longitude 
20 they are northeast to east-northeast; force 4 to 5. In the Gulf of Mexico east 
to southeast trades prevail. Light southeast trades appear 2 or 3 degrees north 
of the Equator between the 15th and 30th meridians. In the Gulf of Guinea south¬ 
west winds of force 2 to 3 prevail. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH ATLANTIC 


837 


Calms .—The highest percentage of calms is off the African coast near la itude 
7 degrees N. where it is 26. The percentage is also high south of the 5th parallel, 
between the 10th and 35ta parallels, between the 10th and 35th meridians, where it is 
13 to 24. Over the northern Gulf of Mexico the percentage is from 8 to 11, and 
over the crest of the high pressure, 6 to 11. 

Fog .—South of Newfoundland there is a small area of 40 to 45 per cent of days 
with fog, an increase of 10 per cent over that of February, but the percentage 
decreases rapidly outward in all directions. From Cape Cod to Cape Henry the 
percentage is 20, thence southward to Hatteras it is 10. Occasional fogs occur 
farther south along the Carolina coast. Very little fog is observed between the 
20th and 40th meridians. The percentage is low southwest of the British Isles 
and is only 10 to 15 per cent in the Irish sea. 

Ice .—Icebergs may be expected early in the month. 


April 

Pressure .—The Iceland Low has decreased in intensity since March. The 
minimum pressure, 29.75 inches, lies between the 55th and 60th parallels. The 
central area of the Azores High, pressure 30.15, has contracted since March and 
now lies between latitudes 28° and 36° N. and longitudes 35° and 25° W. In the 
extreme southern part of the ocean the pressure is 29.90 inches. 

Temperature .—The temperature has risen over practically the entire ocean since 
March. The greatest rise occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and off the New England 
coast, where the greatest changes amount to 8° to 10° respectively. Along the 
northern trans-Atlantic routes the change is greater near the American coast and 
decreases to about 2° in mid-ocean, thence it increases again to about 4° near the 


British Isles. . , . . 

The temperature ranges between 35° and 55° along the northern trans-Atlantic 
routes. Over the northern waters of Newfoundland the temperature is near 
freezing; southward to latitude 35° there is a rapid rise to 60°; south of this 
latitude there is a gradual rise to 80° in the Caribbean Sea. In the Gulf of Mexico 
the temperature ranges between 70° and 80°, and in the eastern part of the ocean 
it ranges between 45° off Scotland to 80° in the Gulf of Guinea. 

Prevailing Westerlies and Gales .—Westerly winds, force 4 to 6, prevail over 
most of the ocean north of the 35th parallel. The winds become moderate and 
more variable in the vicinity of the Azores. West of the 45th meridian westerly 
winds extend as far south as the 30th parallel. 

There is a general decrease in the percentage of gales since March over the 
entire ocean, except along the southern coast of Spain, the northern coast of Africa, 
and in the Gulf of Mexico, and the vicinity of the West Indies, where there is a 
slight increase. Along the northern trans-Atlantic routes west of the English 
Channel the percentage is 7 to 18, being highest in mid-ocean and lowest near the 
coasts. Comparatively few gales occur outside the region of the westerlies. 

The Trade Winds .—The northeast trades, force 4 to 5, lie mainly south of the 
26th parallel. East of the 45th meridian the limit trends farther northward and 
reaches the Madeira Islands. The southern limit of these trades extends to the 
Equator, west of the 40th meridian; but east of this meridian it recedes gradually 
from the Equator to about 8° N. on the African coast. The winds of this system 
vary in direction. East of the 20th meridian they are north and north-northeast, 
between the 20th and 30th meridians, northeast; west of the ^50th meridian *° 
Gulf of Mexico, northeast to east, except between latitudes 20 and 25 N., where 
they are east-northeast to east-southeast. In the Gulf of Mexico east to south- 

eaS Dm?ng S ApriMhe southeast trades blow feebly and extend above the Equator 
only to latitude 1° N. between the 15th and 23d meridians. In the Gulf of Guinea 
the winds are south and south-southwest. . +ra 

Calms .—The aiea between the southern limit of the . n ® rth ®? s * tr ^ es to30 
northern limit of the southeast trades is one of light variable f winds, with^2 to 30 
per cent of calms. Calms average 10 per cent over the crest of.the^ A ^ff n H wa h ters d 
in the vicinity of the Madeiras, and throughout ^st/^the West Indian waters^ 

Fog .—Southeast of Newfoundland, between latitudes 42 and 48 N., and 

longitudes 48° and 54° W., there is an area of 40 to 45 per cent of days with fog, 
20 oer cent occurs along the American coast between Nova Scotia and New Jersey, 
southward,^^fog decreases and practically disappears below the Carolina coast, 
i. rmrtiiprn routes between the 20th and 40th meridians, the percentage 

tas increased sia™ March. Southwest ofthe British Isles 10 to 15 per cent occurs 
over a considerable area extending westward to t1 !* “e 1 !^ and souttward 

to about the 40th parallel. Another area of 10 to 15 per cent extends from lat tu 
50° N., northeastward to latitude 55° between longitude 38 and 28 W. 


838 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH ATLANTIC 


May 

Pressure. —During May the pressure gradients become very slight and summer 
conditions begin on the North Atlantic. The Azores High has increased in area 
and strength since April and its crest, pressure 30.20 inches, occupies the region; 
between latitudes 24° and 36° N. and longitudes 29° and 51° W. The pressure 
diminishes to 29.90 inches along the 55th parallel and over the western portions of 
the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. 

Temperature. —The isotherms are much farther apart than during colder 
months, except in the neighborhood of Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks. The 
difference in temperature, due to latitude, is more gradual on the eastern than on 
the western side of the ocean. Along the American coast the temperature ranges 
between 45° and 80°, a rise of 5° to 10° since April, the greatest change occurring 
north of Hatteras. On the eastern side of the ocean the temperature ranges 
between 50° off Ireland and 80° near Freetown, a rise of 3° to 5° off Europe. South 
of the 25th parallel the temperature changes have been unimportant. The mean 
temperature along the northern trans-Atlantic routes is between 55° and 60°. 

Prevailing Westerlies and Gales. —North of the 35th parallel westerly winds 
prevail, force 4 to 5. Northeily and southerly winds also occur over this region, 
and the percentage of easterly winds is very low. East and northeast of the 
Azores, to the coast of Spain, the prevailing direction is northerly. 

Gales have decreased in number since midwinter, although cyclones and anti¬ 
cyclones continue to cross the ocean in succession in northern latitudes. Between 
the 40th and 50th parallels the highest percentage of gales, 8 to 13, occurs near 
mid-ocean. Northward the percentage decreases between the 50th and 55th 
parallels, but increases slightly between the 55th and 60th parallels. Gales are 
rare south of latitude 30° N. 

The Trade Winds. —Over the eastern part of the ocean the northeast trades 
extend northward slightly beyond the Canary Islands, but west of the 30th meridian 
the northern limit of these winds is nearly along the 25th parallel. The southern 
limit is close to the Equator on the American side, but rises to latitude 12° N. at 
longitude 20° W. The force of the northeast trades is 4 to 5, increasing toward 
the south. Their direction is northerly off the African coast, but is northeast 
between the 20th and 30th meridians. Farther westward the direction is more 
easterly, and north of the Lesser Antilles it is southeasterly, these shifts showing 
the anticyclonic circulation around the Azores High. The winds are generally 
east to northeast in the Caribbean Sea and east to southeast in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The southeast trades, force 3 to 4, extend from 1° to 30° above the Equator 
between the 8th and 42d meridians. 

Calms —The percentage of calms is 15 to 27 in the region between the north¬ 
east and southeast trades. In West Indian waters and over the region between 
the 25th and 35th parallels the percentage is 10 to 18. 

Fog. —The fog area has gradually increased through the winter and the early 
spring. An area of 40 to 45 per cent of days with fog lies off the east and southeast 
coasts of Newfoundland, and a smaller area of the same percentage is east of 
Cape Cod, south of Nova Scotia. Fog decreases east of the 45th meridian. It is 
5 per cent west of Ireland, but southward between the 45th and 50th parallels 
and from the English Channel westward of the 23d meridian it is 10 to 20 per cent. 

Hurricanes. —Only one West Indian hurricane has been observed in May 
during the 40-year period, 1876 to 1915. 

June 

June is a pleasant month over the North Atlantic. Summer conditions are 
well established and the weather changes less than during any other month of 
the year. 

Pressure. —The crest of the Azores High has increased from 30.20 to 30.25 
inches since May and lies mostly southwest of these islands. The gradients are 
moderate north and south of this area. The pressure is lowest, 29.80 inches, 
noith of the 57th parallel. 

Temperature. —The temperature has risen generally since May and is 8° to 10° 
higher along the American coast noith of the 35th parallel. The temperature along 
the northern trans-Atlantic routes ranges between 55° and 65°. The lowest 
temperature shown on the chart is indicated by the 50° isotherm, which extends 
from slightly north of Scotland to Newfoundland. The temperature ranges be¬ 
tween 75° and 80° on the American side of the Atlantic south of the 35th parallel 
and on the African side south of the 20th parallel. Along the American coast the 
isotherms are crowded much closer together than along the European and African 
coasts. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH ATLANTIC 


839 


The Westerly Winds. —North of the 35th parallel the largest percentage of the 
winds is from a westerly direction, except between Spain and the central area of 
high pressure, where the winds are northerly. Gales have decreased in percentage 
and occur only 5 to 7 per cent of the time over the stormiest portions of the northern 
steamship routes. Along the American coast from Sandy Hook to Hatteras south¬ 
westerly winds occur one-third of the time. 

The Trade Winds. —The northern limit of the northeast trades extends in an 
easterly direction from the Florida coast and ends slightly northeast of the Madeiras. 
The southern limit of the northeast trades is within 10° of the Equator at the 20th 
meridian and within about 6° of the Equator at the 50th meridian. The average 
force of the trades is 4 to 5. They are north-northeasterly over the extreme 
eastern part of the trade-wind belt, and northeasterly between the 20th and 30th 
meridians. Farther westward they are more easterly. West of the 55th meridian 
and north of the 20th parallel southeasterly winds prevail. The winds are easterly 
in the Caribbean Sea, and easterly to southeasterly in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The southeast trades, force 4, blow as far north as the 5th parallel in mid-ocean. 
They are 2° to 3° farther north than during May. In the Gulf of Guinea southerly 
winds prevail, with very little southeasterly tendency. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is highest in the area between the 5th and 
10th parallels and east of the 35th meridian, where it ranges between 24 and 37. 
It is high between the 25th and 35th parallels, especially near the region of high 
pressure and including the area between longitudes 25° and 50°. The highest 
percentage in this area is 26. 

Fog. —The percentage of fog is highest in June and July. An area of 60 to 65 
per cent of days with fog lies east and southeast of Newfoundland. A small area, 
40 to 45 per cent, lies south and east of Massachusetts and extends eastward to 
longitude 64°. This fog area extends from the vicinity of Cape Hatteras in a gen¬ 
eral northeasterly direction across the ocean to France and the British Isles. In 
European waters the area of highest percentage, 20 to 25, covers St. Georges 
Channel and the English Channel and extends westward to longitude 16° W. 

Hurricanes. —The hurricane season may be said to begin in June, although 
only eight hurricanes have occurred this month during the period 1876 to 1916. 
Most of these storms originated south of Cuba and passed into the eastern part 
of the Gulf of Mexico. 


July 

Pressure. —The Azotes High occupies its most northern position during July 
and its central area, pressure 30.25 inches, is of greatest intensity. The Iceland 
Low has filled up to some extent, the isobar of 29.80 inches no longer existing. 
This change is due principally to the warming of the adjacent land surfaces with 
the advance of summer and the northward movement of the Azores High. 

There are minor pressure changes in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. 
The mean over the lower portion of this area is about 29.90 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature has risen over the ocean since June, except in 
the Gulf of Guinea, where it has fallen slightly. The greatest rise, 4° to 9°, occurs 
west of the 30th meridian between the 30th and 50th parallels. 

The lowest temperature shown on the chart, 60°, occurs over the region north¬ 
east of Newfoundland; from this region southward to latitude 33° there is a rapid 
rise to 75°. In the southwestern pa^t of the ocean the temperature is above 80 . 
It is from 60° to 70° along the northern trans-Atlantic routes. . „ 00 „ 

The Northeast Trades.— These trades lie mainly between latitude 8 and 28 N., 
over the western half of the ocean. Over the eastern half they are faither north 
and the southern and northern limits touch the coast at latitudes 15 and 38 IN., 
respectively. These winds are the typical northeast trades over the eastern part 
of the ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. They are more easterly ovei the central 
pait of the ocean and become southeasterly north of the Antilles, showing the 
anticyclonic circulation around the Azores High. * t a i a* 

Calms and Southeast Trades.— With the northward movement of the doldrums 
and the setting in of the southwest monsoon off the African coast, there has been a 
change in the percentage of calms south of the 15th parallel, and the greatest per¬ 
centage, 30, is now found in the 5-degree square immediately south of the Cape 
Verde Islands. The percentage in this square has increased 16 since June. The 
greatest decrease, 26 to 32, occurs between the 5th and 10th paiallels east of the 
25th meridian. There has been a decrease of 10 to 14 per cent in mid-ocean along 
the northern limits of the northeast trades, though the percentage of calms con¬ 
tinued high between the 25th and 35th parallels and over the Azores. 


840 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH ATLANTIC 


Southeast trades extend above the Equator west of longitude 8° W., reaching 
latitude 7° N. over the western part of the ocean. South to southwesterly winds 
continue in the Gulf of Guinea. 

The Westerlies .—Westerly winds, force 4, prevail north of the 35th parallel, 
except east of the Azores High, where northerly winds predominate. The Ameri¬ 
can coast winds north of Florida are mainly from the southwest. 

Gales .—There has been a continued decrease in the number of gales and the 
highest percentage, 4 to 6, occurs in mid-ocean north of the 45th parallel. Gales 
seldom occur south of the 35th parallel. 

Hurricanes .—Severe storms of the West Indian type have been recorded 10 
times in July since 1876, as follows: 1886, 2; 1887, 1; 1901, 2; 1908, 1; 1909, 1; 
1916, 3. The hurricane season is now at hand, although the full development of 
conditions favoring the formation of tropical storms in these waters usually is not 
reached until August. 

Fog .—The percentage of days with fog is less than in June, except along the 
American coast from Cape Cod to Cape Ray, where it is greater. The area of 
highest percentage, 50 to 55, surrounds Newfoundland and the Grand Banks and, 
inclosing Nova Scotia to the southwest, touches the New England coast at Cape 
Ann. Fog seldom occurs thisjnonth south of Cape Hatteras. The percentage of 
days with fog decreases from the Grand Banks eastward, except in the Irish Sea 
and English Channel, where a slight increase occurs. 

August 

Pressure .—There has been a slight fall in pressure since July. The present 
crest of the Azores High, pressure 30.20 inches, appears southwest of those islands. 
The Iceland Low has deepened and the isobar of 29.80 inches is now found. A 
small area of moderately low pressure appears off the African coast near Cape 
Verde. As a result of these changes the pressure gradients remain about the same. 

Temperature .—August is the warmest month on the North Atlantic Ocean. 
The temperature over the western part of the ocean ranges from 50° north of Belle 
Isle to between 80° and 83° south of the 33d parallel. Sharp contrasts in tempera¬ 
ture are experienced off the Grand Banks, the mean temperature rising from 55° at 
the 47th parallel to 75° at the 40th parallel. Over the eastern part of the ocean the 
temperature changes are far more gradual, the temperature ranging from 55° at the 
northern edge of the British Isles to 75° or slightly higher south of the 22d parallel. 
The temperature along the northern trans-Atlantic routes ranges from 60° to 75°. 

The Westerlies .—Westerly winds prevail north of the 35th parallel except east 
of the Azores, where northerly winds predominate. The westerlies are not so 
strong as during the colder months when the barometric gradients are steeper. 

The Northeast Trades .—These trades lie mainly between latitudes 10° and 
28° N. over the western half of the ocean. Over the eastern half they are farther 
north and the southern and northern limits touch the coast at latitudes 15° and 
37° N., respectively. These winds are the typical northeast trades over the eastern 
part of the ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. They are more easterly over the 
central part of the ocean and become southeasterly north of the West Indies, 
showing the anticyclonic circulation around the Azores High. 

Calms, the Southwest Monsoon, and the Southeast Trades .—The greatest 
increase in the percentage of calms, 7 to 10, is found in parts of the Gulf of Guinea 
and in mid-ocean near the southern limit of the northeast trades. The greatest 
decrease, 14 to 19, occurs within the area of the southwest monsoon, which reaches 
its greatest development this month and extends as far westward as the 37th 
meridian at the 7th parallel. Steady southerly winds continue in the Gulf of 
Guinea. 

The southeast trades extend farthest noith of the Equator in August, the 
northern limit reaching the 7th parallel over the western part of the ocean. 

Gales .—Gales occur least frequently during July and August, as cyclones over 
the northern part of the ocean are few and feeble. The region of greatest per¬ 
centage, 4 to 6, lies between the 15th and 40th meridians north ot the 45th parallel. 
Very few gales occur south of latitude 30° N. 

Hurricanes .—About four times as many hurricanes occur in August as in July. 
These severe storms usually originate west of the 50th meridian between the 10th 
and 20th parallel. Then direction, at first west-northwesterly, becomes more 
northerly with their approach to the Florida coast and, unless they head into 
the Gulf, they ordinarily recurve toward the northeast and pass into the ocean 
with increased velocity. Forty of these storms occurred in the month of August 
during the 41-year period, 1876 to 1916. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH ATLANTIC 


841 


Fog. —Throughout the fog zone the percentage of days with fog is from 10 to 
20 less than during July. The highest percentage, 40 to 45, occurred southeast 
of Newfoundland. An area of 30 to 35 per cent is found off the New England coast. 
Fog seldom occurs in August south of Chesapeake Bay. In European waters it 
averages about 5 per cent in St. Georges Channel. 

September 

Pressure. —The Azores High has weakened slightly since August and its crest, 
pressure 30.15 inches, has remained nearly stationary. The Iceland Low has 
deepened slightly with the beginning of autumn and the area of low pressure over 
the southern portions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea is more ex¬ 
tensive. 

Temperature. —The temperature has fallen over the western and northern 
parts of the ocean and risen slightly over the eastern part south of the 25th parallel 
since August. The greatest change occurs along the American coast north of 
Florida. 

Along the new northern trans-Atlantic routes the temperature ranges from 
58° to 65°. 

The Westerly Winds. —Westerly winds, force 4 to 6, prevail north of the 35th 
parallel, except east of the crest of the Azores High, where northerly winds pre¬ 
dominate. 

The Northeast Trades. —These trades lie mainly between latitudes 8° and 
28° N., over the western half of the ocean. Over the eastern half they are farther 
north and the southern and northern limits touch the coast at the 16th and 37th 
parallels, respectively. These winds are the typical northeast trades over the 
eastern part of the ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. They are more easterly over 
the central part of the ocean and become southeasterly north of the West Indies, 
showing the anticyclonic circulation around the Azores High. 

Along the American coast from New York to Jupiter northeast winds prevail. 

Calms and Monsoons. —There has been a decided change in the percentage of 
calms in various parts of the ocean, the greatest decrease, 11 to 16, occurring near 
the Azores, Bermuda, Florida, and in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico and 
the western part of the doldrums. The greatest increase, 11 to 15 per cent, 
occurs near the Canary Islands, in parts of the Caribbean Sea, and within the area 
of the southwest monsoon, the influence of which is waning. 

Southwesterly winds prevail in the Gulf of Guinea and east of the 30th meridian 
between the 5th and 10th parallels. 

The Southeast Trades. —These trades extend above the Equator to about 
latitude 5° N. west of the 25th meridian. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales has increased over most of the ocean since 
August and the highest percentage, 9 to 16, occurs in mid-ocean north of the 45th 
parallel. Gales are seldom recorded south of the 20th parallel. 

Hurricanes* —West Indian hurricanes are of greatest frequency during the 
latter part of September and the first part of October. These severe storms 
occasionally form as far east as the Cape Verde Islands, but they usually originate 
west of longitude 55°, between the 10th and 20th parallels. They move in a 
west-northwesterly direction about 250 miles per day, and unless they head into 
the Gulf of Mexico, generally recurve near the coast between Jupiter and Hatteras, 
thence pass northeastward with increasing velocity of translation. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog remains about the same, 30 to 35, off 
the New England coast and a similar area occurs off Newfoundland—a decrease 
of 10 per cent since August. An area of 20 to 25 per cent has appeared in mid-ocean 
north of the Azores. With the exception of an area of 10 to 15 per cent between 
the Irish Sea and Portugal, very little fog occurs east of the 20th meridian south 
of the 58th parallel. 


October 

Pressure. —The Azores High has diminished in intensity and extent since 
September, and its crest, 30.10 inches, is lower than during any other month. 
A shallow low has appeared south of the Cape Verde Islands and the low over the 
Caribbean Sea has contracted in area. The Iceland Low is deepening with the 

advance of autumn. . .. 

Temperature. —The temperature has fallen over the ocean, except in the yult 
of Guinea, where it has risen slightly. The fall is about 3° along the American 

* Fifty-five of these storms have been traced in the month of September during 
the 42-year period 1876 to 1917. 


842 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH ATLANTIC 


coast south of Hatteras. North of the 37th parallel the fall ranges from 5° to 8°» 
except over the British Isles, where the change is about 3°. 

Along the American coast the temperature ranges from 40° at Belle Isle to 80° 
south of Key West. Over the eastern part of the ocean it ranges from 50° near 
the Hebrides to 80° at Cape Verde. Along the new northern trans-Atlantic winter 
routes the mean is from 55° to 65°. 

Westerly Winds. —North of the 40th parallel the winds are fresh, with greatest 
percentage from westerly quadrants, although they shift considerably with the 
passage of cyclonic storms. 

The Trade Winds. —Over the western half of the ocean the northeast trades 
lie mainly between the 9th and 26th parallels, but on. the eastern slope of the 
Azores High they continue as far north as the Madeiras. A pronounced type of 
these trades occurs between the Cape Verde and Canary Islands. In the vicinity 
of the Madeiras they are occasionally disturbed for days at a time by cyclonic shifts. 
In mid-ocean the trades are easterly, but again become northeasterly over the 
West Indies, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. 

The southeast trades extend 5° to 6° north of the Equator west of the 20th 
meridian. East of that meridian, in the same latitude, the winds become southerly 
and in the Gulf of Guinea, south-southwesterly. 

American Coast Winds. —Northeasterly winds prevail along the American coast 
from New York to Jupiter. 

Gales and Calms. —With the advance of autumn there has been a decided 
increase in the percentage of gales; many 5-degree squares north of the 30th 
parallel have more than twice as many gales as during September. 

Calms are of highest percentage over the region between the northeast and 
southeast trades and over the Caribbean Sea. The percentage is also high over 
the southern slope of the Azores High as far south as the 20th parallel. 

Hurricanes. —More hurricanes form in the neighborhood of the West Indies 
in October than during any other month of the year; 45 having been traced from 
1876 to 1916 inclusive. They move in a west-northwesterly direction about 250 
miles a day and unless they head into the Gulf of Mexico generally recurve near 
the coast between Jupiter and Hatteras, thence pass northeastward with increasing 
velocity of translation. 

Fog. —The percentage of fog remains the same, 30 to 35, as in September over 
the Grand Banks, but has decreased along the Nova Scotian and New England 
coasts. There has been a slight increase southwest of the English Channel. 
Very little fog occurs south of the 38th parallel. 

November 

Pressure. —The Iceland Low is increasing in energy with the approach of 
winter, and the isobar of 29.70 inches appears north of the 55th parallel. The 
pressure has also fallen south of the 10th parallel and a belt of moderately low 
pressure extends along the Equator. The pressure has risen in the middle lati¬ 
tudes, an area of 30.10 inches appearing off the coast of the United States, and 
the crest of the Azores High increasing to 30.15 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature has fallen 10° to 18° along the American coast 
and in the Gulf of Mexico except off central and southern Florida, and 3° to 8° 
over the British Isles and off western Europe. Elsewhere the changes have been 
unimportant. Sharp contrasts in temperature appear off the American coast, the 
temperature ranging from 30° in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 75° at Key West. 
Along the northern trans-Atlantic routes the mean is from 45° to 55°. In the greater 
portion of the Caribbean Sea and east of it, between the 15th parallel and the 
Equator, the temperature is about 80°. 

Westerly Winds. —North of the 35th parallel the winds are fresh, with greatest 
percentage from the westerly quadrants, although they shift considerably with the 
passage of cyclonic storms. 

Northwesterly winds sweep the American coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence 
to Hatteras. South of Hatteras they become northerly to northeasterly merging 
with the trades south of Jupiter. 

The Trade Winds. —West of the 30th meridian the northeast trades lie mainly 
between the 5th and 26th parallels, but east of that meridian they are farther north, 
and the southern and northern limits touch the African coast at latitudes 12° and 
32° N., respectively. A pronounced type of these trades occurs between the Cape 
Verde and Canary Islands. In mid-ocean the trades are easterly, but again be¬ 
come northeasterly over the West Indies, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of 
Mexico. 


WEATHER AT SEA—SOUTH ATLANTIC 


843 


trade S extend about 4° north of the Equator west of the 15th 
“ e J a ?* ,? a ®t ° f * hat meridian, in the same latitude, the winds become southerly, 
and in the Gulf of Guinea, south-southwesterly. 

Gales and Calms. —With the approach of winter, there has been a moderate 
increase in the percentage of gales noith of the 35th parallel, except near the 
Azores, where it is less than during October. ’ y 

Gales are infrequent south of latitude 35° N., and only five West India hurri¬ 
canes have been observed during the 41-year period, 1876 to 1916. 

Calms are of highest percentage between the 5th and 10th parallels and north¬ 
ward along the African coast to the Canary Islands. 

Fog. The percentage fog of has diminished generally since October, although 
re * °* percentage 30 to 35 per cent of days, continues to the southeast 

Channel Undlan< ^ Wlth llttle change * A light increase has occurred in the English 


December 

Pressure.—-The Icela nd Low is increasing in energy as winter sets in and the 
isobar of 29.60 inches appears north of the 55th parallel. A belt of high pressure 
J over 11he ocean in middle latitudes and the crest of the Azores High has increased 
to 30.20 inches. An area of moderately low pressure continues along the Equator. 
.. — The temperature has fallen over the entire ocean. North of 

me 25th parallel the fall is 5° to 10°, except in mid-ocean; south of it, it is 2° to 5°. 
rhe temperature along the American coast ranges from below 25° in the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence to 70° at Key West. It is 75° to 80° in the Caribbean Sea. Along 
me European and African coasts the temperature ranges from 40° or lower off 
Scotland to 80° or higher south of the 10th parallel. The mean temperature along 
the northern trans-Atlantic routes ranges between 40° and 53°. 

The Westerly Winds. —Westerly winds predominate north of the 35th parallel 
over the eastern part of the ocean and north of the 30th parallel west of the 40th 
meridian. Easterly winds are rare north of the 40th parallel, occurring as a rule 
only during the passage of cyclonic storms. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales has increased, as a rule, over the entire ocean, 
^ 1S high north of the 40th parallel east of the 40th meridian and north of the 
35th parallel west of it. The highest percentages, 27 to 33, occur in mid-ocean 
west of the British Isles. Gales continue rare south of the 30th parallel. 

American Coast Winds. —Northwesterly winds sweep the coast from Cape Sable 
to Hatteras. South of Hatteras they become northerly. 

The Trade Winds. —Northeast trade winds prevail between the 5th and 25th 
parallels. Near Brazil they extend as far south as the Equator and near the 
African coast as far north as latitude 32° N. These winds are the typical northeast 
trades over the eastern part of the ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. In the central 
part of the ocean they become east-northeasterly. 

Southeast trade winds extend north of the Equator over the central part of the 
ocean to the 4th parallel. 

Northers. —-Northers sometimes occur in the Gulf of Mexico and the western 
part of the Caribbean Sea at this season. They aie generally preceded by a slight 
fall in the barometer, but are accompanied by a rapid rise. 

Calms. —The region of highest percentage of calms is east of the 30th meridian 
and south of the 10th parallel. Elsewhere calms occur most frequently between 
the 25th and 30th parallels. 

Fog.— The percentage of fog has increased slightly along the immediate Ameri¬ 
can coast from Hatteras to Sidney. The area of maximum percentage of days with 
a fog, 30 to 35, remains unchanged southeast of Newfoundland, and an area of 5 
to 10 per cent has appeared northwest of Ireland. Elsewhere the percentage has 
decreased. 

SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN 
Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 
December, January, and February (the Summer Season) 

Pressure. —The permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.15 inches, has 
moved about 8 degrees to the west and a short distance to the south since the 
spring, the center now being located near latitude 32° S. and longitude 7° W. It 
has changed little in area and remains the same in intensity, while the gradients 
directly south of it are somewhat steeper although this does not hold true of those 
off the southern coast of South America, where the gradients have changed but 
little; the isobar of the lowest pressure, 29.30 inches, passes a short distance south 
of Cape Horn. 


844 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—SOUTH ATLANTIC 


Temperature .—There has been a decided southward movement of the iso¬ 
therms since the spring over the greater part of the ocean, though the general 
direction of these lines has changed but little, and they still show that the tempera¬ 
tures off the coast of Africa are lower than at the same latitude off the South Ameri¬ 
can coast, the effect of the cool and warm ocean currents remaining nearly constant. 
The isotherm of 45°, which marks the lowest temperature, has moved slightly to 
the south, while the spring isotherms of 35° and 40° have disappeared. 

Winds .—The southeast trades prevail from the aiea of high pressure to latitude 
5° S. on the eastern part of the ocean and from latitude 15° S. to the Equator on 
the western. Over the greater part of this area they are well developed, blowing 
from the southeast from 50 to 60 per cent of the time, with a small percentage of 
calms and no gales, the average force being about 4. South of the area of high 
pressure “ the brave west winds ” prevail. They have increased slightly in in¬ 
tensity since the spring. The winds around the “ high ” show their anticyclonic 
movements very plainly, while those within the area are variable in direction and 
force. 

Gales .—There are few gales north of latitude 35° S. on the eastern part of the 
ocean and 30° S. on the western. On the whole there has been a decided decrease 
in the number of gales since the spring, although between latitudes 45° and 50° and 
from the South American coast to longitude 45° W. there has been an increase. 
South of Cape Horn the percentage has dropped from 26 to 10, which is the greatest 
change shown on the chart. A number of observations taken in the vicinity of 
Cape of Good Hope, between south latitudes 30° and 50° and east longitudes 10° 
and 20° during the month of January, show that north of latitude 38° the per¬ 
centage of direction and average hours of duration of gales are as follows: NW., 
17 per cent, 12 hours; SW., 40 per cent, 20 hours; NE., 7 per cent, 4 hours; SE., 
9 per cent, 22 hours; exceptional, or shifting from one direction to another, 27 per 
cent, 25 hours. South of latitude 38° these figures are as follows: NW., 40 per 
cent, 32 hours; SW., 21 per cent, 26 hours; NE., 3 per cent, 4 hours; SE., 6 per 
cent, 53 hours; exceptional, 30 per cent, 25 hours. 

March, April, and May (the Autumn Season) 

Pressure .—The permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.10 inches, has moved 
about 10 degrees to the east since summer and now occupies nearly the same 
position it held during the spring season. It has decreased slightly in intensity 
and remains practically the same in extent, while the gradients south of this area 
have changed but little. The isobar of the lowest pressure, 29.30 inches, passes 
south of Cape Horn near the 59th parallel, having moved a short distance to the 
south since summer. 

Temperature .—The 75° and 80° isotherms show a decided southern movement 
in the central part of the ocean, while off the coast of South America south of lati¬ 
tude 20° S., and immediately south of Cape of Good Hope the temperature has 
fallen about 5°; in mid-ocean south of latitude 40° S., the isotherms for the summer 
and autumn are near together. The 35° and 40° isotherms have reappeared, the 
former showing the minimum average temperature for the present season. 

Winds .—The southeast trades prevail from the area of high pressure to latitude 
5° S. on the eastern part of the ocean and from latitude 20° S. to the Equator, on 
the western. The extent of these winds have changed but little since summer and 
they remain practically the same in intensity. Over the greater part of this area 
they are well developed, blowing from the southeast quadrant from 60 to 80 per 
cent of the time, with a small percentage of calms and gales, the average force 
being about 4. South of the area of high pressure “ the brave west winds ” 
prevail, while along the South American coast between south latitudes 30° and 40° 
the winds are variable. South of Cape Horn the winds are westerly the greater 
part of the time with a force of from 5 to 6, having increased slightly in intensity 
since summer. 

Gales .—North of latitude 25° S. there are no gales along the African coast, 
while in the central and western part of the ocean the percentage ranges from 1 to 2. 
South of the 30th parallel there is a general increase in the number since the 
previous season. From a large number of observations taken between south 
latitudes 30° and 50° and east longitudes 10° and 20°, during the month of April 
it was shown that in the track of homeward bound vessels, or north of latitude 
38°, the percentage of direction and average hours of duration of gales are as 
follows: NW., 20 per cent,26 hours; SW.,43per cent,22 hours; NE., 15 per cent, 
8 hours; SE., 7 per cent, 17 hours.; exceptional, or shifting from one direction to 
another, 15 per cent, 45 hours. In the region covered by outward bound vessels, 


WEATHER AT SEA—SOUTH ATLANTIC 


845 


or south of latitude 38°, these figures are as follows: NW., 40 per cent, 36 hours; 
SW.,21 per cent, 24 hours; NE.,3 per cent, 23 hours; SE., 9 per cent, 30 hours; 
exceptional, 27 per cent, 46 hours. 

June, July, and August (the Winter Season) 

Pressure .—A high-pressure area, crest 30.20 inches, lies between latitudes 
25° and 35° S. and longitudes 0° and 22° W. This varies little in extent and 
intensity from season to season and now occupies its extreme western position, 
having moved over 10 degrees in longitude since autumn. The pressure diminishes 
more rapidly to the south than to the north of this high, the 30.00 inch isobar being 
about 30° north and 15° south of its center, respectively. At latitude 59°, directly 
south of Cape Horn, the pressure reaches a minimum of 29.30 inches. 

Temperature .—Along the southern limit of the southeast trades the tempera¬ 
ture ranges between 55° and 75°; along the northern limit it ranges between 75° 
and 80°. The temperature falls from 45° at latitude 40° S., to 30° at latitude 55° S., 
the line of freezing temperature running near the 53d parallel. Sudden and 
marked changes in temperature with rain or snow may be expected while rounding 
Cape Horn. 

Winds .—The southern limit of the southeast trades extends from latitude 
30° S. on the African coast to latitude 17° S. off the coast of South America. North 
of this limit to the Equator the southeast winds are remarkably steady. At the 
Equator, east of longitude 20° W., the prevailing direction becomes nearly southerly, 
with force of about 4. The southern and northern limits of the southeast trades 
draw more to the southward as they approach the African coast. South of the 
area of high pressure westerly winds prevail; on account of their steady force 
and comparatively constant direction they are known as the “ brave west winds.” 
The winds near the center of the high pressuie area are variable as to direction 
and intermittent in force. Between latitudes 20° and 30° S., along the South 
American coast, the winds are from north to northeast for a greater portion of the 
time, and between latitude 30° S., and Cape Horn the prevailing direction is from 
north to northwest. South to southeast winds, average force 4, prevail along the 
African coast as far south as latitude 30°; between this parallel and Cape of Good 
Hope they are variable in direction, with average force of about 4. 

Gales .—Tropical cyclones are unknown in the South-Atlantic Ocean, and there 
are few gales north of latitude 30° S. The largest percentage is 24, found along the 
“ roaring forties ” between longitude 40° and 50° W., while it varies from 18 to 20 
south of Cape Horn, and is 22 in the square between latitudes 40° and 45° and 
longitudes 15° to 20° E. From a large number of observations taken between 
latitudes 30° and 50° S. and longitudes 10° and 20° E. during the month of July it 
was shown that in the track of homeward bound vessels, or north of latitude 38°, 
the percentage of direction and average hours of duration of gales are as follows: 
N.W., 45 per cent, 35 hours; SW.,32 per cent, 22 hours; NE.,4 per cent, 9 hours; 
SE., 4 per cent, 14 hours; exceptional, or shifting from one direction to another, 
15 per cent, 27 hours. In the region covered by outward-bound vessels, or south 
of latitude 38°, these figures are as follows: NW., 41 per cent, 25 hours; SW.,26 
per cent, 21 hours; NE., 1 per cent, 6 hours; SE., 11 per cent, 32 hours; excep¬ 
tional, 21 per cent, 42 hours. 


September, October, and November (the Spring Season) 

Pressure .—The semi-permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.15 inches, is 
now central about 15° west of the South African coast along the 30th parallel of 
south latitude, having moved about 10° to the east since the previous season. It 
has contracted somewhat in area and is less in intensity, while there is little change 
in the gradients, which are much steeper south of the high than toward the north. 
The isobar of the lowest pressure, 26.30 inches, passes over Cape Horn, having 


moved about 4° to the north since the winter. 

Temperature .—North of latitude 20° S. the temperature over the eastern part 
of the ocean is much lower than over the western, due to the cooling effects of the 
Benguela Current off the African coast and the warming effects of the South 
Equatorial and Brazil Currents off the coast of Brazil. South of latitude 25° S. 
on the western part of the ocean the fall in temperature is very regular, being 
about 1° for every degree in latitude, reaching the minimum temperature of 35° 
near latitude 55° S. There has been a general rise in temperature over the entire 
ocean since the previous season. This change is small near the Equator, while in 
the vicinity of Cape Horn the tempeiature has increased from 30 to 40 and off 
Cape of Good Hope from 52° to 60°, and at latitude 50° S. and longitude 20 W. 
it is now 43°, showing an increase of 8° since the winter. 


846 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 


Winds. —The southeast trades prevail from the area of high pressure to latitude 
10° S. on the eastern part of the ocean and to the northern limits of the chart on 
the western. Over the greater part of this area these winds are well developed, 
blowing from the southeast from 50 to 60 per cent of the time. South of the area 
of high pressure the “ brave west winds ” prevail, while the winds around this area 
show plainly their anticyclonic movement. 

Gales. —Few gales occur north of latitude 30° S. on the central and western parts 
of the ocean and north of latitude 35° S. on the eastern. Along the “ roaring 
forties ” the percentage runs as high as 12, while in the winter season the maximum 
was 24. South of latitude 55° the percentage is from 15 to 26, showing a decided 
increase in the vicinity of Cape Horn since the winter, while the opposite is true 
over all other parts of the ocean. From a large number of observations taken 
between latitudes 30° and 50° S. and longitudes 10° and 20° E., during the month 
of October, it was shown that in the track of homeward bound vessels, or north 
of latitude 38°, the percentage of direction and average hours of duration of gales 
are as follows: NW., 30 per cent, 25 hours; SW., 36 per cent, 23 hours; NE., 
2 per cent, 23 hours; SE., 9 per cent, 11 hours; exceptional or shifting from one 
direction to another, 23 per cent, 36 hours. In the region covered by outward 
bound vessels, or south of latitude 38°, these figures are as follows: NW., 33 per 
cent, 21 hours; SW., 35 per cent, 21 hours; NE., 6 per cent, 8 hours; SE., 8 per 
cent, 35 hours; exceptional 18 per cent, 36 hours. 

CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 
Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 

January 

Pressure. —The pressure ranges from 30.10 near the 25th parallel to 29.90 
below the 10th parallel. 

Temperature. —The temperature ranges between 53° in the northern and 70° 
in the southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico; in the Caribbean Sea it ranges 
between 70° in the northern and 78° in the southern portion. The temperature 
is about 75° in the Bay of Panama and adjacent waters. 

Winds. —The northeast trades of the Atlantic, force 3 to 5, are fairly constant. 
In the Gulf the winds are generally easterly. In the Pacific southeasterly winds 
prevail west of the 85° meridian between the Equator and the 5th parallel; thence 
northward the prevailing winds are northeasterly. 

Gales. —In Atlantic waters, the percentage of days with gales ranges between 

8 and 16 immediately north of the 30th parallel; south of this parallel to the 25th 
between 1 and 5; thence southward and in Pacific waters between 0 and 3. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms on the Atlantic is about 6 to 9, 
except along the northern border of South America, where it is decidedly lower; 
it is very high on the Pacific between the 20th parallel and the Equator being 40 in 
most of the area between the 10th and 15th parallels. 

Northers. —Noitheis sometimes occur in the Gulf of Mexico and along the 
coast southward to Colon. These storms are generally preceded by a slight fall 
in the barometer, but the gale itself is accompanied by a rapid rise. 

February 

Pressure. —The pressure in Central American waters of the Atlantic ranges 
from 30.10 inches in the northern to 30.00 inches in the southern portion. It is 
about 29.90 inches in the Pacific waters of this region. 

Temperature. —The temperature ranges between 57° in the northern and 75° 
in the southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico; in the Caribbean Sea it ranges 
between 75° in the northern and 78° in the southern portion. The tempeiature is 
about 80° in the Central American waters of the Pacific. 

Winds. —The northeast trades, force 3 to 5, prevail over the greater portion of 
the Atlantic. North of the trade wind belt the winds are variable. In the Gulf 
of Mexico the prevailing winds are southeasterly. In the Pacific the northeast 
trades, force 3, extend as far south as the 7th parallel; the southeast trades, force 2, 
extend as far north as the 3d parallel. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales in Atlantic waters ranges between 

9 and 15 immediately north of the 30th parallel; south of this parallel to the 20th 
between 1 and 4; thence to the 10th between 1 and 2. South of the 10th parallel 
and in Pacific waters the percentage is 0. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms is about 6 to 11 on the Atlantic 
except along the northern border of South America where it ranges between 1 and 3. 
On the Pacific it is very high, ranging between 20 and 30. 


WEATHER AT SEA—CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 847 


Northers. —Northers sometimes occur in the Gulf of Mexico and along the 
coast southward to Colon. These storms are generally preceded by a slight fall 
in the barometer, but the gale itself is accompanied by a rapid rise. 

March 

Pressure. —The pressure averages about 30.00 inches over the greater portion 
of the Central American waters of the Atlantic, ranging from 30.05 inches in the 
extreme northeast portion to 29.95 inches in the extreme southeast portion; in the 
Pacific waters of this region it ranges between 29.85 and 29.90 inches. 

Temperature .—The temperature ranges from 60° in the northern to 75° in the 
southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico; in the Caribbean Sea it ranges from 75° 
in the northern to 78° in the southern portion. The temperature is about 80° in 
the Central American waters of the Pacific. 

Winds. —The northeast trades, average force 3 to 5, prevail over the Atlantic 
portion of the Central American waters south of the 25th parallel. North of this 
parallel the winds, average force 4, are variable in direction. In the Caribbean 
Sea the winds are northeasterly, except in the western portion where they are 
easterly, and easterly to southeasterly in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Central 
American waters of the Pacific the northeast trades prevail over most of the area 
north of the 5th parallel; south of this parallel the winds are southeasterly, except 
near the coast where they are light and variable. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales in the Central American waters of 
the Atlantic ranges between 9 and 12 immediately north of the 30th parallel; 
south of this parallel to the 20th between 1 and 3; south of the 20th parallel to the 
northern coast of South America and in Pacific waters the percentage averages 1 
or less. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms is about 5 to 10 over Atlantic and 
Gulf waters, except along the northern coast of South America where it ranges 
between 1 and 5. On the Pacific the percentage is very high, ranging between 
30 and 39 along the coast, but diminishing gradually to the westward. 

April 

Pressure. —The pressure averages about 30.00 inches over the greater portion 
of the Central American waters of the Atlantic, ranging from 30.03 inches in the 
extreme northeastern to 29.95 inches in the extreme southeastern portion; in 
the Pacific waters of this region it is about 29.85 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature ranges from 68° in the northern to 80° in the 
southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico; in the Caribbean Sea it ranges from 77° 
in the northern to 80° in the southern portion; it is about 80° in the Central Ameri¬ 
can waters of the Pacific. 

Winds. —The northeast trades, average force 4, prevail over the Central Ameri¬ 
can waters of the Atlantic south of the 26th parallel. North of this parallel the 
winds, average force 4, are variable in direction. The winds, average force 4, are 
easterly to southeasterly in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Caribbean Sea the pre¬ 
vailing winds are easterly to northeasterly. In the Central American waters of 
the Pacific the northeast trades, average force 3, extend over most of the region 
north of the 5th parallel; the southeast trades, average force 2, extend over most 
of the region south of the 4th parallel; on the coast immediately north of the 5th 
parallel the winds are northwesterly and immediately south of it southwesterly. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales in the Central American waters of 
the Atlantic ranges between 4 and 13 immediately north of the 30th parallel; 
south of this parallel to the 20th between 1 and 3; south of the 20th parallel to the 
northern coast of South America and in Pacific waters the percentage averages 1 
or less. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms is about 5 to 10 in the Central 
American waters of the Atlantic, except along the northern coast of South America 
and in the neighborhood of the West Indies and to the eastward where it ranges 
between 2 and 5. On the Pacific side the percentage is very high, ranging between 
27 and 43 along the coast and diminishing gradually to the westward. 

May 

Pressure. —The average pressure over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 
Sea is from 29.90 to 30.00 inches. Toward the open Atlantic the pressure rises, 
but in the Pacific waters of Central America it falls to about 29.85 inches. 

Temperatures. —The mean temperature over most of the region included i n 
the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific coast waters is about 80 o 
but in the upper Gulf it falls to 75° or slightly lower. 


848 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 


Winds. —The trade wind holds with good steadiness at force 4 over the Atlantic 
region to the southward of the 27th parallel, as well as in practically the entire 
Gulf. The inclination of the trade, howevei, is more nearly easterly than north¬ 
easterly, except in the central Caribbean Sea and along the coast of South America 
to the southeastward of Trinidad. Over much of the Gulf the trade is deflected also 
into the southeast. In the Central American waters of the Pacific the winds are 
mostly light and variable, although with approach to the Equator the steadying 
effect of the southeast trade becomes apparent. 

Gales. —Few gales occur over the entire area. In the Pacific region, and up 
to about the 30th parallel in the Atlantic, the number of days with gales for the 
month is 1 per cent or less. One West Indian hurricane has been observed in 
May during the last 40 years. 

Calms. —The Pacific in this vicinity is distinguished for its calms, which are of 
high relative frequency, even as low as the Equator. Ovei the region to the east¬ 
ward of the 100th meridian, except where the advance movement of the trade is 
felt the percentage of days with calms ranges between 20 and 40 per cent. Calms 
are much less frequent on the Atlantic side, and in the open sweeps of the trades 
are scarcely to be reckoned with. 

June 

Pressure. —The average pressure from the Florida Peninsula southeastward 
along the backbone of the West Indies is about 30.00 inches. A gradual increase 
occurs to the eastward, but to the westward there is a decrease to 29.85 inches 
over the Pacific portion. 

Temperature. —A mean temperature of 80° or near it prevails over most of the 
Central American area. 

Winds. —Easterly winds of the trades system, with an average force of 4, pre¬ 
vail over the entire Atlantic and Caribbean area south of the 27th parallel. North 
of the 23d parallel, and over most of the Gulf of Mexico, the winds are slightly the 
most prevalent from the southeast. On the Pacific side the winds are mostly 
light and variable except to the southward of the 5th parallel, where winds of the 
southeast trades system, force 2 to 4, prevail, freshening toward the Equator. 

Gales. —Few gales occur on the Atlantic side this month. Off the Pacific coast 
of Mexico theie are occasional squall bursts peculiar to the opening of the rainy 
season. 

Hurricanes. —The hurricane season may be said to begin in June, although 
only 8 hurricanes have occurred this month during the period 1876 to 1916. Most 
of these storms originated south of Cuba and passed into the eastern part of the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

Calms. —Over the region dominated by the full sweep of the trades there is a 
small percentage of calms, but toward the westward, in the vicinity of Cuba and 
the Bahamas, over the extreme southwestern portion of the Caribbean Sea, and 
throughout the Gulf of Mexico, there are 10 to 17 per cent of calms. Over the 
Pacific area calms are much more frequent except near the Equator in the trades 
region. 

July 

Pressure. —The mean atmospheric pressure over the West Indies is about 
30.00 inches, but is higher toward the eastward. In the lower Caribbean Sea, 
and over most of the Pacific area adjoining southern Mexico and Central America, 
the pressure is about 29.90 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature over most of the region is about 80°, but in 
the lower Pacific area, between 5° N. and the Equator, it falls to 75° or slightly 
lower. 

Winds. —Over most of the Atlantic and Caribbean area south of the 27th 
parallel the trade winds persist, of average force 4. North of the 25th parallel 
the force and steadiness decrease and the winds become more variable, though 
with a southeasterly tendency toward the Florida Peninsula. In the Gulf of 
Mexico, while diminishing easterly trades are fairly well established south of the 
25th parallel, to the northward the winds become increasingly variable. In the 
Pacific area southerly winds of the southeast trades system carry their influence 
across the Equator, nearly to the 10th parallel, except toward the coast, along 
which, as well as to the northward of the 10th parallel generally, northerly winds, 
force 2 to 3, are in the ascendency. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales is 1 or less over the Central American 
and West Indian waters during July. 


WEATHER AT SEA—CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 849 


West Indian Hurricanes. —Ten hurricanes have been observed in these waters 
in July during the 41-year period, 1876 to 1916, of which 3 occurred in 1916, and 
are shown on this chart. 

Calms. —Calms are few in the unobstructed trades belt of the Atlantic, but 
they increase in frequency toward the western part of the Caribbean Sea and over 
the Gulf of Mexico. In the northern part of the Gulf the percentage of days with 
calms is as high as 20. In the eastern Pacific waters calms are much more frequent 
than in the Gulf, especially to the northward of the 7th parallel, but they diminish 
rapidly to less than 10 per cent in the belt of the southeast trades. 

August 

Pressure. —The pressure is about 30.10 inches over the extreme northeastern 
part of the Central American waters of the Atlantic, whence it diminishes to the 
westward and southward, being about 30.00 inches in the vicinity of Florida and 
the West India Islands. It is slightly below 30.00 inches in the Gulf of Mexico 
and about 29.90 inches in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea and over the 
neighboring waters of the Pacific. 

Temperature. —The temperature averages about 80° over the waters of both 
the Atlantic and the Pacific in this region, except between the 6th parallel and the 
Equator on the Pacific side, where it averages about 75°. 

Winds. —Southeasteily winds prevail over that part of the Atlantic between the 
30th and 25th parallels; from the 25th to the 15th parallels they are mostly easterly; 
thence southward and in the Caribbean Sea they are noitheasterly or easterly, 
while in the greater part of the Gulf of Mexico they are southeasterly. The 
average force of the wind is 3 to 4 on the Atlantic side. Over the waters of the 
Pacific the winds are northeasteily to easterly between the 15th and the 10th 
parallels; mostly southerly between the 10th and the 5th parallels, except near the 
coast, where they are northwesterly; between the 5th parallel and the Equator 
they are southwesterly near the coast and southerly to southeasterly thence west¬ 
ward. The average force of the wind is 2 to 4 on the Pacific side. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales is 1 or less over the Central American 
waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

West India Hurricanes. —Forty of these storms occurred in the month of 
August within the 41-year period, 1876 to 1916. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms is 15 to 22 over the Gulf of Mexico, 
except south of latitude 22° 30', where it averages about 8; it is 10 to 15 over the 
Caribbean Sea; also over the Atlantic, except in the region east of longitude 65°, 
between parallels 25° and 12° 30', where it averages 3 to 7. On the Pacific side 
the percentage of calms is very high, ranging from 10 along the Equator, except 
near the coast, to 30 per cent north of latitude 12° 30'. 

September 

Pressure. —The average atmospheric pressure during September is about 
29.95 inches over the West Indian Islands, and 29.90 inches or slightly lower over 
the southern portions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, as well as over 
the neighboring waters o’f the Pacific. 

Temperature. —The temperature in this region averages about 80° over the 
waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific, except between the 5th parallel and the 
Equator on the Pacific side, where it averages about 75°. 

Winds. —Southeasterly winds prevail over that part of the Atlantic between the 
30th and 20th parallels, except east of Florida to the 70th meridian, wheie they are 
northeasterly; from the 20th parallel to the northern coast of South America and 
in the Caribbean Sea they are easterly to northeasterly, while in the Gulf of Mexico 
they are easterly. The average force of the wind is 3 to 4 on the Atlantic side. 
Over the wateis of the Pacific the winds are mostly northerly, force 2 to 3, from 
the 10th parallel northward to the coast; between the 10th parallel and the Equator 
they are southwesterly, force 3 to 4 except south of the 5th parallel, west of the 
85th meridian, where they are southerly to southeasterly. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales is 1 to 2 over the Gulf of Mexico and 
2 to 3 over the Atlantic between the 20th and 30th parallels west of the 55th meri¬ 
dian, while south of the 20th parallel in these waters the percentage in any 5-degree 
square is not over 2. In the Caribbean Sea and on the Pacific in the neighborhood 
of Central America the percentage is 1 or less. . 

West Indian Hurricanes. —Fifty-five of these storms have been traced in the 
month of September within the 42-year period, 1876 to 1917. . 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms is 8 to 15 over the Gulf of Mexico 


850 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—CENTRAL AMERICAN WATERS 


and the Atlantic and 8 to 20 over the Caribbean Sea. On the Pacific side it is 
very high north of parallel 7° 30', especially near the coast, where it ranges from 
25 to 33; south of parallel 70° 30' it ranges from 2 to 15. 

October 

Pressure .—The pressure averages about 30.00 inches over the northern paits 
of the Gulf of Mexico and the Central American waters of the Atlantic, whence it 
diminishes southwaid to about 29.90 inches in the southern parts of this region. 
It also averages about 29.90 inches over the neighboring waters of the Pacific. 

Temperature. —The temperature in this legion averages about 80° over the 
waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific, except over those bordering on the 
Equator on the Pacific side, where it averages about 75°. 

Winds. —Northeasterly winds prevail over that part of the Atlantic between the 
30th and the 20th parallels west of the 70th meridian, while east of this meridian 
southeasterly winds prevail. From the 20th parallel southward to the noithern 
coast of South America, and in the Caiibbean Sea as far west as the 80th meiidian 
the winds are easterly, while in the Caribbean Sea west of the 80th meridian and 
in the Gulf of Mexico they are northeasterly. The average force of the wind is 
3 to 4 on the Atlantic side. Over the waters of the Pacific the winds are mostly 
northeily, force 2 to 3, between the 10th and 15th parallels, while south of the 10th 
parallel to the Equatoi they are southwesterly, force 3 to 4, except south of the 5th 
parallel west of the 85th meridian, where they are southerly to southeasterly. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales averages 1 to 2 over the Gulf of 
Mexico and over the extreme northern part of the Caribbean Sea, 2 to 8 over the 
Atlantic north of the 25th parallel, and 2 to 3 adjacent to the northern coasts of Cuba 
and Haiti; elsewhere over the Atlantic south of the 25th parallel; also in the 
Caribbean Sea south of the 20th parallel, and on the Pacific side the percentage 
averages 1 or less. 

West India Hurricanes. —Forty-five of these storms occurred in the month of 
October within the 41-year period, 1876 to 1916. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms averages 5 to 10 over the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Atlantic waters of this region, while it averages 8 to 20 over the 
Caribbean Sea. On the Pacific side the peicentage is very high north of latitude 
7° 30' ranging from 24 to 48 near the coast; south of that latitude it is also com¬ 
paratively high near the coast; elsewhere the average is 2 to 12, being lowest 
along the Equator. 

November 

Pressure. —The pressure averages about 30.10 inches over the extreme northern 
part of the Gulf of Mexico and over the Central American waters of the Atlantic 
from the eastern coast of northern Florida to the 75th meridian. It decreases 
toward the lower latitudes, being about 30.00 inches over the southern part of the 
Gulf of Mexico and over the West India Islands, and about 29.90 inches over the 
southern part of the Caribbean Sea and along the noithern coast of South America; 
it also averages about 29.90 inches over the neighboring waters of the Pacific. 

Temperature. —The temperature in this region averages about 60° in the 
northern part of the Gulf of Mexico and in the adjacent waters of the Atlantic, 
whence it increases to about 80° in the vicinity of the 15th parallel over the Carib¬ 
bean Sea and the Atlantic. It averages about 80° on the Pacific side, except over 
the waters bordering on the Equator west of the 90th meridian, where it averages 
about 75°. 

Winds. —Northeasterly winds prevail over the waters on the Atlantic side, 
force 3 to 4, except between longitudes 52 and 60 north of the 15th parallel, where 
they are generally easterly. Over the Pacific waters of this region the winds are 
mostly northerly or northeasterly, force 2 to 3, between the 10th and 15th parallels; 
also between the 5th and 10th parallels and longitudes 95 and 100; elsewhere 
south of the 10th parallel to the Equator the winds are southwesterly, force 2 to 3, 
except between the 5th parallel and the Equator, west of the 85th meridian, where 
they are southeasterly. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales averages 2 to 3 over the Gulf of 
Mexico, and 1 to 2 over the Atlantic waters between the 20th and 30th parallels; 
elsewhere in this region and in the neighboring waters of the Pacific the percentage 
rs 1 or less. 

West India Hurricanes. —Two of these storms occurred in the month of Novem¬ 
ber within the 35-year period, 1876 to 1910. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


851 


Calms.— The percentage of days with calms averages 6 to 8 over the Gulf of 
Mexico and over the Atlantic above latitude 20 as far east as longitude 62° 30'. 
In other parts of the Atlantic and over the Caribbean Sea it averages 7 to 10, while 
on the Pacific side it averages 8 to 17 north of latitude 7° 30', and 2 to 6 south of it. 

December 

Pressure.— The pressure averages about 30.10 inches over the northern part 
f lu ° f M ® x 1 lco over the Central American waters of the Atlantic north 

of the 25th parallel. It decreases toward the lower latitudes, being about 30.00 
inches in the vicinity of the 20th parallel, and about 29.90 inches along the coasts 
of Dutch and French Guiana; it also averages about 29.90 inches over the neigh¬ 
boring waters of the Pacific. 

Temperature.— The temperature over the Atlantic waters of this region ranges 
from about 55 off the northern coast of Florida to about 80° along the northern 
coast of South America, 55° in the northern to 75° in the southern part of the Gulf 
of Mexico, and 75° in the northern to 80° in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea. 

Winds. —Northeasterly winds prevail over the waters on the Atlantic side, 
average force 4, except between longitudes 70 and 80 north of parallel 22° 30' 
where they are variable, while over the Gulf of Mexico they are northerly to south¬ 
easterly. Over the waters on the Pacific side the winds are generally north- 
easterly, force 2 to 3, between the 5th and 15th parallels, except in the immediate 
vicinity of the Panama Canal, where they are northwesterly. South of the 5th 
parallel they are southwesterly east of the 85th meridian, while they are south¬ 
easterly thence westward. 

Gales. —The percentage of days with gales averages 2 to 3 on the Atlantic side 
north of the 20th parallel, thence southward and over the neighboring waters of the 
Pacific it averages 1 or less. 

Calms. —The percentage of days with calms averages 3 to 9 over the Atlantic 
side of this region, while on the Pacific side it averages 30 to 48 north of latitude 
7° 30', thence to the Equator it averages 6 to 25, being lowest near the Equator. 


NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN 

Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 

January 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low has increased in area southward and westward 
since December. It is central over the middle portion of the Aleutian Islands, 
and its lowest pressure continues at 29.60 inches. The pressure along the Equator 
over the western part of the ocean is 29.85 inches, or .05 inch less than in December. 
The crest of the Asiatic High, still 30.30 inches, extends from the China coast at 
Shanghai to northern Chosen (Korea). The North Pacific High occupies nearly 
the same position as in December, and its central pressure remains at 30.20 inches. 

Temperature. —There has been a fall of 3° to 5° in temperature in the Gulf of 
Alaska and along the American coast as far south as Cape San Lucas, and a slight 
rise in temperature in the area between the 30th and 45th parallels and longitudes 
145° W. and 155° E.; elsewhere there has been little change. The line of freezing 
temperatuie touches the Asiatic coast at latitude 37° N., passes slightly north of 
the Kuril Islands, thence over the southernmost of the Aleutian Islands, and 
reaches the American coast at latitude 56° N. In Asiatic coast and Philippine 
waters, from the 37th to the 14th parallel, the temperature ranges between 32° 
and 80°; along the American coast from the 56th to the 11th parallel, it ranges 
between 32° and 75°. Along the Equator, east of longitude 165° W., the tempera¬ 
ture is between 75° and 80°, and west of this meridian it is between 80° and 85°. 
On the great circle route from San Francisco to Yokohama it ranges between 40° 
and 50°. 

American Coast Winds. —In the most northern part of the Gulf of Alaska the 
prevailing winds are north and northeasterly; in the neighborhood of Sitka, 
easterly; from the 55th to the 40th parallel, westerly and southerly; 40th to 20th 
parallel, northwesterly; 20th to 10th parallel, northerly to northeasterly; 10th to 
5th parallel, northwesterly, and thence to the Equator, southerly. 

Winds of High Latitudes. —In Bering Sea south of Alaska the winds are north¬ 
erly, and in the 5-degree square immediately west of the Pribilof Islands, also in 
the adjacent square to the north, the winds are northeasterly. 

Westerly Winds.— The prevailing winds are westerly over the western part of 
the ocean north of the 25th parallel, except in Asiatic coast waters, due to the 


852 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


cyclonic circulation accompanying the Aleutian Low, and the anticyclonic circula¬ 
tion accompanying the North Pacific and the Asiatic Highs. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon.— The winds east of Chosen (Korea) 
are northeasterly and west of it they are northwesterly. Along the China coast 
immediately north of Shanghai the winds are northerly; south of Shanghai to the 
5th parallel they are northeasterly and are known as the northeast (winter) mon- 


The monsoon is in full force during January, and blows with greatest strength 
and constancy off the coast between Macao and Chusan. It shows a marked 
tendency to follow the coast, and as it weakens at night and the winds become 
somewhat offshore, northbound sailing vessels may then make fan headway. 
The thick, rainy weather of the monsoon period renders navigation difficult off the 
coasts of Taiwan (Formosa) and Luzon. A rising barometer foreruns an increase 
and a falling barometer a decrease in the strength of the monsoon. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades reach their most northern limit 
in the eastern part of the ocean at the 29th parallel slightly southeast of the central 
area of the California High, and are strongest and steadiest south of this region. 
Between longitudes 145° W. and 155° E. their northern limit is close to the 25th 
parallel. They extend eastward to within 5° to 8° of the American coast and 
westward they extend to Asiatic waters, where they merge into the northeast 
monsoon. They extend as far south as the Equator west of longitude 170 E. 
East of this longitude their southern limit gradually rises to the 10th parallel at 


The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend north of the Equator 
between longitudes 85° W. and 180°. They reach their most northern limit, the 
6th parallel, between longitudes 115° and 125° W. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is highest, 40, in the coast waters of Central 
America; it continues high along the coast to Los Angeles. Calms are frequent 
east of longitude 155° E. in the belt between the 20th and 25th parallels, also in the 
vicinity of Japan, and the Philippine, Marianas, and Galapagos Islands, and in the 
region between the northeast and the southeast trades. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is high over most of the ocean between the 
35th and 45th parallels and longitudes 145° E. and 140° W. Over most of the 
region of the prevailing westerlies the wind system is frequently interrupted by 
cyclonic storms accompanied by a southeast changing to northwest gales. These 
gales often sweep the coast from San Francisco northward. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The typhoons of January show a decrease in 
number over those of December. They originate largely in the vicinity of the 
Marianas and the Caroline Islands, those of the former recurving before reaching 
the Philippines, and those of the latter being severely felt in Mindanao and the 
Pelew Islands. The December and January typhoons reach the mainland in 
Cochin China or South Anam. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of the higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. , , , . 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog has decreased to 11 along the American 
coast from Vancouver to Cape San Lucas. Over most of the fog area to the west¬ 
ward as far as longitude 160° W. and in the Gulf of Alaska the percentage is 15 to 
20; in Asiatic waters as follows: China coast from Hongkong to Shanghai, 14; 
north coasts of Taiwan (Formosa) and Luzon, 8; Eastern Sea and Gulf of Pechili, 
11; elsewhere, low. 


February 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low is central over the western Aleutian Islands 
with a mi nimum pressure of 29.60 inches. The piessure is 29.80 inches along the 
Equator from longitude 120° W. to longitude 120° E. The crest of the Asiatic 
High, 30.30 inches, covers the Yellow Sea. The crest of the North Pacific High, 
30.20 inches, lies within 10° of the California coast between latitudes 28 and 38. 

Temperature. —The line of freezing temperature touches the Asiatic coast at 
slightly below the 37th parallel, crosses the extreme northern portion of Honshu 
Island, passes south of the Aleutian Islands, and reaches the American coast im¬ 
mediately north of Sitka. In Asiatic coast and Philippine waters from the 38th to 
the 15th parallel the temperature ranges from 30° to 80°. Along the American 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


853 


al'ong the^qlmtor k t slightly 0 above^O**wesl I (^ e iongitude < I50 o7 W*; So IverTsmaU 

016 grea? drcle route 

American Coast Winds .—The winds are northerly west of the Alaska Peninsula • 
in the neighborhood of Sitka and to the 45th parallel, southeasterly; 45th to 40th 
tn an ? s ? uth erl y ; 40th to 15th parallel, northwesterly; 15th parallel 

Enuatnr v«rf a °w hea - S A er y ’ Panai ? a to 5th parallel, northerly; and thence P to the 
Equator, variable with weak southeast trades. 

u a1 J V A s !u rly Winds -—‘The prevailing winds are northwesterly over the western 
arl f n f IS® 0< l ea , n nor A h of ^ 25th P arallei > except east of Kamchatka, where they 
fl ri heaS J er i ly * u ? ver the e ? s J?f rn half of the ocean north of the 35th parallel 
they are westerly, but more variable than over the western half, and frequently are 
reversed to an easterly direction during the passage of barometric highs and lows. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon.— From the Gulf of Pechili to Shanghai 
the winds are north and northwest, but from Shanghai southward they are north¬ 
easterly, and constitute what is known as the winter monsoon. The northeast 
monsoon is in full force during February and blows with greatest strength and 
constancy off the coast between Macao and Chusan. It shows a marked tendency 
to follow the conformation of the coast, but as it weakens slightly at night and the 
winds become at times somewhat offshore, sailing craft close in to land may make 
headway against it. The thick, rainy weather off the coasts of Taiwan (Formosa) 
and Luzon renders navigation difficult in these waters. The Philippine monsoon 
is much augmented during this season by the prevalence of the northeast trades. 
A rising barometer foreruns an increase and a falling barometer a decrease in the 
strength of the monsoon. 

N ° r *h east Trades .—The northeast trades reach their northern limit at the 
30th parallel in the eastern part of the ocean; their southern limit is along the 7th 
parallel from the American coast to longitude 130° W.; it touches the Equator at 
longitude 170° E. These trades are steadiest, as a rule, between the 5th and 
20th parallels. 


The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend north of the Equator 
between Colombia and longitude 165° W. They reach their northern limit along 
the 5th parallel, between longitudes 115° and 130° W. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is high east of longitude 120° W. between 
the Equator and the 10th parallel and along the coast from the Equator to San 
Diego; it is highest, 35 per cent, in Central American waters. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is high over an irregular area occupying the 
western part of the ocean south and southwest of the Aleutian Low, between the 
50th and 30th parallels and longitude 145° E. and 165° W. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The number of typhoons occurring in Asiatic 
waters during February is less than during any other month of the year. Those 
that visit the mainland usually enter Anam. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of stoims 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog averages 20 to 25 along the American 
coast from the Alaska Peninsula to Cape San Lucas. It decreases toward the 
west: in Asiatic waters it is 17 on the China coast from Hongkong to Shanghai, 
and 15 over the Eastern Sea and the Gulf of Pechili. 


March 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low fills in with the approach of spring, and now has 
two centers, each with a pressure of 29.70 inches, one over and mainly east of the 
Alaskan Peninsula, the other between the Aleutians and Kamchatka. The pres¬ 
sure is moderately low, about 29.85 inches, between the 10th parallel and the 
Equator. The crest of the Asiatic High has a pressure of 30.10 inches. The 
California High is a little to the westward of its position in February; the pressure 
at its crest is 30.20 inches. 

Temperature. —The line of freezing temperature touches the Asiatic coast at 
the 41st parallel, crosses Kokushu Island and the Aleutians, passes south of the 
Alaska Peninsula, and reaches the American coast at the 59th parallel. In Asiatic 
coast and Philippine waters, from the 42d to the 15th parallel, the temperature 


854 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


ranges from 30° to 80°, along the American coast from the 60th to the 20th parallel 
it ranges from 30° to 75°. The temperature is slightly above 80° in an area begin¬ 
ning at the Equator and longitude 140° W., extending westward and increasing in 
width. It is also slightly above 80° in a small area near the Equator between 
longitude 110° and 127° W., and in another small area adjacent to Panama. On 
the great circle sailing route from San Francisco to Yokohama it ranges from 40° 

American Coast Winds. —Northerly winds prevail north of the 55th parallel 
from the Alaska Peninsula to longitude 145° W.; thence to 140° W. the winds are 
northerly and southerly; east of 140° W., easterly. Northwesterly winds sweep 
the coast from the 55th to the 15th parallel, but are least frequent between the 40th 
and 50th parallels. From the 15th to the 10th parallel the winds are light north 
and northeast; 10th to 5th, light northwesterly, and thence to the Equator light 
southwesterly. 

Westerly Winds. —The prevailing winds are westerly over a considerable portion 
of the ocean between parallels 55 and 30. Over the western half of the ocean, 
between parallels 50 and 30, northwest winds are most frequent; over the eastern 
half, between parallels 55 and 35, westerly and southwesterly winds prevail. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon. —North of Shanghai northerly and 
northwesterly winds are prevalent. In the Japan Sea westerly winds prevail over 
the southwestern and northeastern portions; southerly winds in the northwestern 
portion and northerly winds in the southeastern portion. 

During March the northeast monsoon covers the China and Celebes Seas, the 
Philippine Islands, and the eastern coast of Asia, as far north as Shanghai. Off the 
China coast it blows with force 5, but decreases to force 3 to 4 over the waters to 
the south. The monsoon shows a marked tendency to follow the conformation 
of the coast, but as it weakens slightly at night and the wind becomes at times some¬ 
what offshore, sailing craft close to land may make headway against it. The thick 
rainy weather off the coasts of Formosa and Luzon renders navigation difficult in 
these waters. A rising barometer foreruns an increase and a falling barometer a 
decrease in the strength of the monsoon. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades, force 4 to 5, reach their most 
northern limit, the 30th parallel, in the eastern part of the ocean. They are the 
principal winds in the region between the 25th parallel and the Equator, except in a 
narrow area along the Equator east of the 180th meridian and in the vicinity of the 
coasts. They extend to within about 300 miles of the American coast, and in 
Asiatic waters they merge into the northeast monsoon. In Honolulu they average 
about 17 days in March. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend north of the Equator 
between longitudes 90° and 170° W., and reach their most northern limit near the 
4th parallel, between longitudes 115° and 125° W. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is high, 25 to 45, east of longitude 110° W. 
from the Gulf of California southward to the Equator; also between the 5th parallel 
and the Equator, from longitude 110° to 125° W., and from longitude 170° E. to 
Borneo. The percentage is also high over most of the Philippine waters. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is highest, 11 to 17, in an area between longi¬ 
tudes 145° and 170° E., and latitudes 35 and 40 N., and nearly as high in an area 
extending thence northeastward to the Aleutian Islands. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —Typhoons are infrequent during March, although 
there is a very slight increase in their number ovei those of February. These occa¬ 
sional typhoons originate in the neighborhood of the Caroline and Pelew Islands, 
and those that visit the mainland usually enter Anam. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot chaits, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled in each 24 hours. The approximate tracks of 
storms in middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory, 
Pere H. Gauthier, compiler. The number of such storms is greatest in March and 
December and least in July. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog is highest, 15 to 20, along the American 
coast from latitude 55° N. to Cape San Lucas and westward, between the parallels 
40 and 55, to longitude 160° W. In Asiatic waters it is 19 along the China coast 
between Hongkong and Shanghai, and 9 in the Eastern Sea and the Gulf of Pechili. 

April 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low continues to fill in. It is central south and east 
of the Alaska Peninsula with a pressure of 29.75 inches. The pressure between 
the 10th parallel and the Equator is nearly the same as in March, being about 29.85 






855 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


crest of . the Asiatic High decreases to 30.00 inches. The North 

its ^plsiSninES Xtent and pr , e ^ u 0 r c e : Its center is slightly north and east of 
its position in March with a pressure of 30.25 inches. 

te “ pera * u [? is 5 ° t0 10 ° hi « her ‘han in March over Japanese 
Thl ifno ? adj . ace ^ t waters to the eastward; elsewhere the changes are slight. 

n^rth of thJjC^T i T era ^ r i coatin H es its northward movement and is low 
north of the Kuril Islands and the Aleutian Islands and northwest of the Alaska 

Asiatlc coast and Philippine waters from the 50th to the 20th parallel 

oarall^ P to 3 ° + t0 80 °‘ K is J sli S htl y above 80° south of the 20th 

or™* 1 tb ® Equator in Asiatic waters and thence eastward in a diminishing 

betweL a thlVth n fnH ; i al -*° in a ® mallarea touching the American coast 
ifc Z J? the r 9t ?l a ^ d 16 , th Parallels, its southern limit being near the Equator and 

Sal wSSri-Sf?* ab ? ut , l0ngl S de 116 ° W * 0n the Sreat circle sailing route from 
S a n Francisco to Yokohama the temperature ranges from 40° to 57°. 

of th?rZ C if n nf C A°i aS t Win <j s '— T J ie winds are variable over the northwestern part 
nar+. e °* Alaska and mostly easterly and southeasterly over the northeastern 

IVth to h ^ nC ?^^ UthW u r 1 al0ng t Jl e coast t0 the 45th Parallel they are southerly; 
uvl* 1 Jr 18t 5 parallel, generally northwesterly; and south of the 15th parallel, 
+i, a t *u anable ’ ^^Pl southeasterly in the vicinity of Corinto, northwesterly 
on the Isthmus, and southwesterly near the Equator. 

Westerly Winds .—The prevailing winds are westerly over most of the area 
etween the 40th and 55th parallels; they tend to become northwesterly west of 
longitude 150 W., and to become southwesterly east of this longitude to within 
about 5° of the coast. 


WYnds o/ Bering Sea. —The prevailing winds are northeasterly in Bering Sea 
north of the 55th parallel, except east of the Pribilofs, where they are westerly. 
They are westerly south of the 55th parallel. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon. —In the Japan Seas the winds are gen¬ 
erally variable, but calms occur over the northern portion about one-fourth of the 
time. In the Yellow Sea the winds are also variable, but tend to blow from north¬ 
erly and easterly quadrants. In the China Sea the northeast monsoon continues, 
though with less vigor than during the winter months. Over the Philippines and 
east of Borneo the monsoon is light and often dies to a calm. 

Winds of the High-pressure Area.— Between the 30th and 40th parallels and 
longitudes 145° E. and 135° W. the winds are mostly variable, although easterly 
winds, force 3 to 4, predominate over the southern half of the area. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades, force 3 to 5, blow over most of 
the ocean between the 5th and 30th parallels. Over the western part of the ocean 
their northern limit gradually inclines southward to the 25th parallel. The southern 
limit of these trades is slightly north of the 5th parallel over most of the eastern 
part of the ocean and slightly south of this parallel over most of the western part 
of the ocean. They average 21 days in April at Honolulu. 

The Southeast Trades. —Light southeast trades extend north of the Equator 
between longitudes 82° and 140° W., and reach their most northern limit near the 
5th parallel, between longitudes 95° and 125° W. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is high along the American coast from San 
Francisco to the Equator, ranging from 20 to 27 between San Francisco and Cape 
San Lucas; it is higher thence southward along the coast, being 48 at the Isthmus. 
The percentage is high between the 10th parallel and the Equator from the coast 
westward to longitude 120° W., and beyond this area south of the 5th parallel to 
longitude 140° W. It is also high south of the 5th parallel west of longitude 165° E. 
and in Philippine waters. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is generally high ovei most of the region of the 
westerlies, being 11 to 13 between parallels 50 and 55 and longitudes 140° to 160° 
W., and 10 to 12 in a small area east of the Kuril Islands. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —During the 22 years from 1880 to 1901, inclusive, 
ten tropical cyclones were reported in Asiatic waters in Apiil as against five in 
March. Many of the April cyclones originate in the Caroline Islands and move in a 
west-northwest direction. Some cross the Philippines and reach the mainland; 
others recurve at sea toward the Marianas. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory, near 
Shanghai, China. The number of storms of higher latitudes is greatest in March 
and December and least in July. 


856 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


Fog. —The percentage of days with fog is 15 to 20 in mid-ocean between latitudes 
30° and 50° N. in an area with a northeast-southwest trend, and along the American 
coast from San Francisco to Cape San Lucas. In Asiatic waters the percentages 
are as follows: Hongkong to Shanghai, 23; Eastern Sea and Gulf of Pechili, 18; 
south and west of Japan, 10. 

May 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low has continued to fill in and has a pressure of 
29.80 inches over two areas, one in the Gulf of Alaska and the other in the south¬ 
western part of Bering Sea. The pressure is also 29.80 inches over Borneo and 
the Philippine Islands; elsewhere near the Equator it is about 29.85 inches. The 
Asiatic High has disappeared, owing to the decrease in pressure over the continent 
with the advance of spring. The North Pacific High occupies about the same 
position, and has the same pressure at its crest, 30.25 inches, as in April. 

Temperature. —The temperature is 5° to 9° higher than in April over Asiatic 
waters between the 20th and 55th parallels. North of the 40th parallel this rise 
extends as far eastward as longitude 145° W.; it also includes the western portion 
of the Gulf of Alaska; elsewhere the changes are slight. The isotherm of 35° 
extends across Bering Sea from latitude 57° on the Asiatic side to latitude 60° on 
the American side. Over Asiatic coast waters from the 50th to the 20th parallel 
the temperature ranges from 40° to 80°; along the American coast, east of longitude 
145° W., from the 60th to the 18th parallel it ranges between 45° and 80°. There 
is a decided dip of the isotherms over the eastern part of the ocean south of the 
40th parallel and a subsequent recurve near the coast in a northerly direction. 
The temperature is slightly above 80° from about the 20th parallel to the Equator 
in Asiatic waters and thence eastward in a diminishing area to about longitude 
150° W.; also in a small area which touches the American coast between the 8th 
and 18th parallels, and has its southern limit at the 5th parallel and its western 
limit at longitude 117° W. On the great circle sailing route from San Francisco 
to Yokohama the temperature ranges from 47° to 63°. 

Winds North of Latitude 55° N. —Northerly winds prevail over most of Bering 
Sea. In the Gulf of Alaska the winds are easterly, except in the neighborhood of 
Kodiak and the Peninsula of Alaska, where they are variable. Calms occur 20 
per cent of the time in the Gulf of Alaska and 8 to 20 per cent in Bering Sea. 

American Coast Winds. —South of the 55th parallel westerly winds occur 
along the coast to Vancouver Island; thence to the 15th parallel the prevailing 
winds are northwesterly; 15th to the 5th parallel light, variable winds occur, 
broken by frequent calms. Light southwesterly winds occur near the Equator. 

Westerly Winds. —The prevailing winds are westerly, force 4 to 5, between 
the 40th and 55th parallels, except northeasterly immediately east of Kamchatka. 

Asiatic Coast Winds. —In the northern part of the Japan Sea, the winds are 
easterly over the western half and easterly and westerly over the eastern half. 
In the southern part of the sea they are mostly southerly. Off the west coast of 
Chosen (Korea) westerly winds prevail. In the vicinity of the lower Japanese 
Islands the winds are variable; in the neighborhood of Shanghai they are south¬ 
easterly. 

Between the 30th and 20th parallels the winds, especially during the first half 
of the month, are northeasterly under the waning influence of the winter monsoon. 
The southwesterly winds of the summer monsoon are gradually increasing, al¬ 
though in May they are little more than land breezes. 

Along the western coast of the Philippine Islands the winds are quite variable, 
but during the day light southwest winds often occur, changing to southeast at 
sunset. Along the eastern coast light east and southeast winds prevail. 

Winds of the High-pressure Area. —The winds follow a clockwise course 
around the central area of the North Pacific High; west of this area, so far as 
longitude 155° E., they are westerly between latitudes 40° and 35° and easterly 
between latitudes 35° and 30°. 

The Northeast Trades. —These trades, force 4 to 5, extend to within about 5° 
of the American coast between the 25th and 15th parallels. Their northern and 
southern limits are near the 30th and 4th parallels, respectively. They average 
24 days in May over the Hawaiian Islands. 

The Southeast Trades. —These trades, force 3 to 4, extend 1° to 5° noith of the 
Equator; they are farthest north between longitudes 150° and 110° W. 

Calms. —Calms are frequent along the American coast south of the 25th parallel, 
except west of lower California. They occur one-half of the time off the coast near 
Champerico. The percentage is 20 to 35 between latitudes 5° and 10° as far west 
as longitude 135° W. Around the Philippines calms occur one-fourth and near 
Borneo and the Celebes one-half of the time. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


857 


sp / ir l g s< r aaon advances, the percentage of gales decreases in 
the region of the westerly winds, the average in May being 6 to 7 per cent over the 
“2? f rea : Th ® highest percentage, 12, occurs in the 5° square north of the 40th 
parallel and west of the 180th meridian, also in the square north of the 45th parallel 
and west of longitude 150° W. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —During the 22-year period, 1880-1901, 25 
typhoons occurred in Asiatic waters in May, as against 10 in April and 41 in June, 
they originate near the Pelew Islands and move across the Philippines, then gen- 
erally recurve to the northeast. The typhoons most likely to prove dangerous to 
Manila are those of May, September, October, and November. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog.—' The area of highest percentage of days with fog, 20 to 25, as far as shown 
by the chart, extends northeastward from northern Japan to the Aleutian Islands. 
The percentage is between 15 and 20 over the greater portion of the remainder of 
the area indicated by the blue shading. In Asiatic waters the percentages are as 
foUows; China coast from Hongkong to Shanghai, 12; Eastern Sea and Gulf of 
Pechili, 21; south and east of Japan, 14. 


June 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low very largely loses its identity with the approach 
of summer, although the pressure continues low, about 29.80 inches, over Bering 
Sea. Along the Asiatic coast the pressure is 29.75 to 29.80 inches, and in Central 
American waters it is about 29.85 inches. The North Pacific High continues to 
occupy nearly the same position and has the same pressure, 30.25 inches, as in 
April. 

Temperature. —The temperature is 5° to 8° higher than in May over Asiatic 
waters between the 30th and 50th parallels and 5° to 7° higher over the Gulf of 
Alaska north of the 55th parallel, and in Bering Sea immediately west of the 
Alaska Peninsula; elsewhere the changes are slight. The temperature is slightly 
above 40° in Bering Sea near the continents and the Aleutian Islands. In Asiatic 
coast waters, from the 60th to the 25th parallel, the temperature ranges from 40° 
to 80°; along the American coast, from the 60th to the 20th parallel, it ranges from 
50° to 80°. There is a decided dip of the isotherms over the extreme eastern part 
of the ocean south of the 40th parallel and a subsequent recurve near the coast in a 
northerly direction. The temperature is slightly above 80° over Asiatic waters 
between the 25th parallel and the Equator and thence eastward in a diminishing 
area to longitude 135° W.; also in a small area which touches the American coast 
between the 5th and 20th parallels. It is 75° in the vicinity of the Galapagos 
Islands. On the great circle sailing route from San Francisco to Yokohama the 
temperature ranges from 46° to 70°. 

Winds North of Latitude 55° N. —The winds are generally light and variable 
north of the 55th parallel, and calms occur 20 per cent or more of the time, except 
in Bering Sea south of the 60th parallel, between longitudes 170° E. and 170° W. 

American Coast Winds. —South of the 55th to the 15th parallel the prevailing 
winds are northwesterly; thence to the 5th parallel variable; thence to the Equator 
southwesterly. 

Westerly Winds. —The prevailing winds are westerly, force 4 over most of the 
region between the 40th and 55th parallels, but there is also a high percentage of 
variable winds over the greater portion of this area. The westerlies are less pro¬ 
nounced in June than during the colder months, owing to decreased barometric 
gradients and to more settled conditions. 

Asiatic Coast Winds .— The Southwest Monsoon. —In June the southwest 
monsoon is fairly well developed in the China Sea and in the Eastern Sea as far 
north as Shanghai. It has not the strength and steadiness of the northeast (winter) 
monsoon, and along most of the China Sea coast it often blows from the south 
or southeast. The land and sea breezes are well defined during its prevalence, and 
southbound sailing vessels may easily make headway against it by keeping near 
the coast. The monsoon affects the winds of the western coast of the Philippine 
Islands, light southwesterly winds prevailing there during the day, but changing 
to southeasterly at night. 

The Northeast Trades. —These trades, force 3 to 4, extend to within 7° to 10° 


858 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


of the American coast between the 30th and 15th parallels. Their northern and 
southern limits are near the 34th parallel and the Equator, respectively. They 
extend westward as far as longitude 145° E. They are steadiest, force 4, between 
the 10th and 20th parallels and longitudes 130° and 160° W. East of this area the 
winds are north-northeast and north as far as the belt of northwest winds along 
the coast of Lower California. West of the Hawaiian Islands the trades are east- 
noitheast as far as the Marianas. Over the eastern part of the trade belt the 
northeast winds extend only as far south as latitude 13° N., but the southern limit 
gradually approaches the Equator toward the west, nearly reaching it in east 
longitude. 

The Southeast Trades .—These trades extend farthest north, latitude 8° N., 
between longitudes 120° and 135° W. They do not extend north of the Equator 
east of longitude 90° W., and are unimportant west of 170° E. 

Calms .—The winds are mostly light and variable with frequent calms in the 
area between the limits of the northeast and southeast trade winds. Variable winds 
and calms occur over the region east of longitude 110° W. and north of latitude 
5° N. Calms occur 30 to 38 per cent of the time along the American coast between 
latitudes 5° and 25° N., one-fourth to one-third of the time in the Philippine and 
East Indian waters, and one-fourth of the time in all of the Japan Sea, except the 
northeastern portion. 

Gales .—The percentage of gales in June is low over the entire ocean. The 
highest percentage, 3 to 5, is between the 40th and 50th parallels and longitudes 
155° E. and 180°. 

Typhoons. —June, July, August, and September are the so-called “ typhoon 
months.” During these months typhoons occur more frequently and reach higher 
latitudes than during other months. They originate west of the Caroline Islands 
and move in a northwesterly direction, often crossing the Philippines or passing 
to the north of them, thence generally recurving toward the northeast. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of 
storms of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. 
The number of storms of higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog .—The area of highest percentage of days with fog, 40 to 50, lies between 
the western Aleutian Islands and southeastern Kamchatka. Over most of the 
remainder of the ocean north of the 30th parallel the percentage varies from 10 to 40. 
Along the American coast the percentage is 30 from Cape San Lucas to San Fran¬ 
cisco and 20 to 30 from San Francisco to the 55th parallel. It is about 8 per cent 
along the Asiatic coast between Hongkong and Shanghai. 

July 

Pressure .—The pressure is higher than in June over Alaskan waters, but con¬ 
tinues low, 29.80 inches, over the western part of Bering Sea. It falls to 29.70 
inches along the China coast. The Noith Pacific High becomes more extensive, 
but the pressure at its crest remains at 30.25 inches. The pressure increases 
slightly off the Mexican coast. 

Temperature .—The temperature is 5° higher than in June over Bering Sea 
and 5° to 8° higher generally over Asiatic waters between the 50th and 30th paral¬ 
lels. The latter rise extends between parallels 35 and 50 to longitude 175° W. 
Thence a rise of 5° extends eastward over a diminishing area to longitude 135° W.; 
elsewhere the changes are slight. 

Over the eastern part of Bering Sea and near Kamchatka the temperature is 
above 45°. In Asiatic coast waters from the 60th to the 28th parallel it ranges 
from 45° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° between the 28th parallel and the Equator 
and thence eastward in a diminishing area to latitude 150° W. Along the American 
coast from the northern border of the Gulf of Alaska to Cape San Lucas the tempera¬ 
ture ranges from 55° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° in an area that touches the 
coast between Cape San Lucas and Panama. It is about 75° along the Equator 
from the American coast to longitude 115° W. 

The temperature increases quite uniformly over mid-ocean from the 52d to 
the 30th parallel. Marked differences in temperature occur along the coasts of 
both continents, as shown by the dip and recurve of the isotherms, and especially 
by their crowding each other along the California coast. On the great circle 
sailing route from San Francisco to Yokohama the temperature ranges from 51° 
to 73°. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


859 


Winds North of Latitude 55°. —The winds are generally light and variable 
north of the 55th parallel. Calms occur in this region about 19 per cent of the time 
in the Gulf of Alaska and 23 per cent of the time in Bering Sea. 

American Coast Winds .— The Southwest Monsoon. —South of the 55th parallel 
to Cape San Lucas the prevailing winds are northwesterly. Thence to the Equator 
they are variable with frequent calms. The winds of a light and imperfectly 
developed monsoon blow over a narrow area that extends from Colombia to longi¬ 
tude 120° W. between the zone of calms and the southeast trades. 

Westerly Winds. —Owing to the slight barometric gradient over the northern 
part of the ocean, resulting from the disappearance of the Aleutian Low, the pre¬ 
vailing westerly winds occupy a small area and are less pronounced than during 
June. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Southwest Monsoon. —The summer monsoon mani¬ 
fests its fullest strength and steadiness during July and August in Chinese and 
Philippine waters as far north as Shanghai and as far east as longitude 130° E., 
but it is not so strong as the winter monsoon, and the winds occasionally blow 
from the southeast. The land and sea breezes are so well marked that south¬ 
bound sailing vessels easily make headway against the monsoon along the lower 
China coast. 

The Northeast Trades. —These winds cover a large area south of latitude 35° N. 
They are most marked between the Hawaiian Islands and longitude 130° W. 
They average 29 days in July in Honolulu. West of these islands to the Marianas 
the trades gradually become more easterly. 

The Southeast Trades. —These trades, force 3 to 4, cross the Equator from the 
South Pacific and extend as far north as the 8th parallel. They are steady between 
longitudes 100° and 170° W. from the Equator to the 5th parallel, but above this 
parallel they are intermittent. 

Calms. —An extensive area of calms exists on the Asiatic side of the ocean in 
the vicinity of the Philippines and the East Indies. Another area of calms extends 
along the American coast from Panama to Cape San Lucas and into the Gulf of 
California. A narrow belt of calms exists between the limits of the northeast 
trades and the southeast trades. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is light over the entire ocean; it is greatest, 
4 to 5, between Taiwan (Formosa) and longitude 135° E.; it is 2 to 4 in area between 
longitudes 160° E. and 180° and latitudes 40° and 45° N. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The normal wind direction west of the Philip¬ 
pine Islands is southwesterly by day, changing to southeasterly by night. If the 
wind blows steadily from the southwest for an entire day, and the daily oscillation 
of the barometer is absent, it is well to assume the existence of a typhoon northeast 
of Luzon. Four to six of these storms are likely to occur during any one of the 
midsummer months. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
in middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of the higher latitudes is least in July. 

Fog. —An area of 55 to 60 per cent of days with fog covers the ocean between the 
Kuril and the Aleutian Islands; thence there is a decrease in percentage in all 
directions, except close off the coast of North America, where there is a local in¬ 
crease to between 30 and 35 per cent from Vancouver Island to the extremity of the 
California Peninsula. In Asiatic waters the percentage is 15 at Shanghai and 10 
over the Japan Sea. 


August 

Pressure. —The pressure is slightly lower over the northern part of the Gulf of 
Alaska and slightly higher over the western part of Bering Sea than in July. The 
pressure continues low, 29.70 inches, along the China coast. The North Pacific 
High occupies about the same position as in July, but the pressure at its crest 

increases to 30.30 inches. _ . _ 

Temperature.— The temperature is 5° higher than in July over an area that 
touches the American coast at Vancouver Island and extends between the Gulf 
of Alaska, and the crest of the North Pacific High to longitude 165° W.; there is a 
slight rise elsewhere except in the Equatorial region. 

Over Bering Sea the temperature ranges from 45 to 50 . From the 59th parallel 
in the Sea of Okhotsk along the Asiatic coast to the 33d parallel it ranges from 
55° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° between the 33d parallel and the Equator and 


860 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


thence eastward in a diminishing area to longitude 137° W. Along the American 
coast from the northern part ot the Gulf of Alaska to Cape San Lucas it ranges from 
55° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° in an area that touches the coast between Cape 
San Lucas and Panama. It is about 75° along the Equator from the American 
coast to longitude 130° W. 

The temperature increases quite uniformly over mid-ocean from the 52d to the 
34th parallel. Marked differences in temperature occur along the American coast 
from the 35th parallel to San Luis Obispo. The dip of the isotherms over the 
eastern part of the ocean and their subsequent recurve is not so marked as in July. 
There is practically no longer a dip of the isotherms over Japan waters. On the 
great circle sailing route from San Fiancisco to Yokohama the temperature ranges 
from 55° to 77°. 

Westerly Winds. —North of latitude 45° the prevailing winds are not so steadily 
from the west as during the colder months, and they frequently blow from more 
northerly and southerly directions. 

American Coast Winds. —Northwesterly winds prevail along the American 
coast from latitude 55° to Cape San Lucas; thence to latitude 10° N. calms, light 
variable and northeasterly winds prevail; thence to the Equator southwest mon¬ 
soon winds blow over a narrow area that extends between the zone of calms and 
the southeast trades from Colombia to longitude 130° W. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades prevail in the area between 
parallels 10 and 35. This area extends from longitude 117° W. to longitude 140° E. 
Its widest part is from mid-ocean eastward. The force of the wind is very regular, 
3 to 4, ovei the entire area. The direction is quite northerly in the eastern part, 
becomes northeasteily at longitude 130° W., and at 170° W. changes to easterly. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend across the Equator from 
the South Pacific between longitudes 145° E. and 90° W. Their most northern 
limit is the 10th parallel at longitude 130° W. South of latitude 5° N. the winds 
are from the southeast and steady between longitudes 95° and 155° W.; thence 
westward they become easterly. 

Calms. —There is a narrow area of calms between the northeast and the south¬ 
east trades in mid-ocean. It broadens near the continents, especially over the 
western part of the ocean. The percentage of calms is highest, 43, near Ponape 
Island. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Southwest Monsoon. —The monsoon winds are not 
well defined in the China Sea and are often interrupted by easterly winds. South¬ 
west winds aie more pronounced in the Philippine waters, especially during the 
day; at night they decrease to a calm or become variable, but they may continue 
from the southwest under the influence of a typhoon northeast of Luzon. 

Gales. —The highest percentage of gales, 5 to 7, occurs over an area that extends 
from Luzon and Formosa eastward to 140° E. The percentage of gales is 4 to 6 
in an area lying between latitudes 40° and 45° N. and longitudes 165° E. and 180°. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The typhoon season in Asiatic waters is at its 
height in August and September, and four to six of these tropical storms are likely 
to occur during each of these months. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of the higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog. —An area of 40 to 45 per cent of days with fog lies south of the Aleutian 
Islands. The percentage is 20 to 30 in Bering Sea. Along the American coast 
from Vancouver to San Francisco it is 30 to 49, and 30 to 33 thence to Cape San 
Lucas. In Asiatic waters the percentage is as follows: Japan Sea, 10; Eastern 
Sea and Gulf of Pechili, 16; China coast between Hongkong and Shanghai, 4. 

September 

Pressure. —The pressure decreases over the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, 
marking the development of the Aleutian Low over Bering Sea, with a central 
pressure of 29.75 inches. The pressure increases along the China coast, but a low 
area covers the Philippine Islands and extends as far north as Taiwan (Formosa) 
and the China coast, and eastward to longitude 138° E. The North Pacific High 
continues to occupy about the same position as in July and August, but the pressure 
at its crest decreases to 30.25 inches. 

Temperatures. —The seasonal change in temperature begins in Septembei and 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


861 


is, market! by a fall of from 5° to 8° in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea and a 
fall of 5 along the eastern coast of Honshu; elsewhere there is but little change. 

Along the Asiatic coast from the 60th parallel, in the Sea of Okhotsk, to the 22d 
parallel, the temperature ranges from 45° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° from the 
wio n e to *k e Equator and thence eastward in a diminishing area to longitude 
142 W. Along the Ameiican coast from the northern part of the Gulf of Alaska 
to Cape San Lucas the temperature ranges from 50° to 80°; it is slightly above 80° 
in an area that touches the coast between San Lucas and Panama. It is about 
75 along the Equator from the American coast to longitude 130° W. 

In mid-ocean a rise in temperature with decreases in latitude is quite uniform 
between the 52d and 33d parallels. Over the eastern part of the ocean the dip 
and subsequent recurve of the isotherms for temperatures from 60° to 80° is about 
the same as in August. On the great circle sailing route from San Francisco to 
Yokohama the temperature ranges from 56° to 73°. 

Winds of High Latitudes .—Northeasterly and southerly winds prevail in 
Bering Sea west of the southern half of the Aleutian Low; the winds are variable 
in the western part of the sea and westerly and southerly in the vicinity of the 
Aleutian Islands. In the Gulf of Alaska, except the extreme northern portion, and 
over most of the area between the 55th and 45th parallels, the winds are mostly 
westerly and southerly, resulting from the combined influences of the Aleutian 
Low and the North Pacific High. 

American Coast Winds. —South of Alaska the winds, as a rule, are south¬ 
westerly. Northwesterly winds prevail along the immediate coast from latitude 
55° to Cape San Lucas; south of the point to Colombia the winds are variable with 
frequent calms. Southwesterly winds occur on the South American coast from 
the 5th paiallel to the Equator. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon. —The monsoon blows from the south¬ 
west over the China Sea during the first half of September, but it is unsteady in 
direction, and before the close of the month the winter monsoon from the northeast 
appears, often suddenly and with storm force, and carries its influence as far south 
as the 15th parallel. South of this parallel on the western Philippine coasts light 
westerly and southwesterly winds prevail; these become easterly and northeasterly 
by the end of the month, or early in October. The winds are northwesterly 
between the island of Kokushu and the mainland. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades occur in an area between par¬ 
allels 14° and 27° and longitudes 155° E. and 122° W. In the eastern portion of 
this area the prevailing direction is nearly north-northeast. These winds are 
steadiest near the Hawaiian Islands, where they prevail 29 days in September. 
West of these islands the prevailing direction is about east-northeast. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend across the Equator from 
the South Pacific between longitudes 93° W. and 178° E. Their most northern 
limit is a little south of the 9th parallel between longitudes 130° and 140° W. 

Calms. —The northeast and southeast trades are separated by a narrow belt of 
calms, the doldrums, which join a considerable area of calms at longitude 123° W. 
and a larger area of about longitude 160° E. The percentage of calms is high along 
the American coast between the 5th and 40th parallels. In Asiatic waters it is high 
off the coasts of northern Borneo and western Mindanao. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is generally high between the 45th and 60th 
parallels west of longitude 140° W. It is notably high, 11, near Kodiak Island, and 
highest, 12, immediately east of Kamchatka. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The typhoon season is at its height in Asiatic 
waters during August and September, and from four to six of these tropical storms 
are likely to occur in each of these months. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of stoims of the higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog is 40 to 49 over a narrow belt extending 
along the American coast from Vancouver to San Francisco and 40 to 30 from 
San Francisco to Cape San Lucas. It is 40 to 45 in an area that extends from the 
Kuril Island eastward between the 45th and 51st parallels to longitude 155° W. 
South of this area the percentage of fog diminishes more rapidly than in any other 
direction. Elsewhere the percentages are as follows: China coast, from Hong¬ 
kong to Shanghai, 4; Eastern Sea and Gulf of Pechili, 16; Japan Sea, 10. 


862 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


October 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low increases in extent and deepens to 29.70 inches 
with the approach of winter. The pressure is also low, 29.80 inches, in the vicinity 
of the Philippine Islands. 

The pressure continues to increase along the Asiatic coast south of the 50th 
parallel and is about 30.10 inches over the Yellow Sea. The central pressure of 
the North Pacific High decreases to 30.20 inches, and the area covered by the crest 
is slightly less than in August and September. 

Temperature. —The seasonal fall in temperature which begins in September 
over a part of the ocean becomes general in October as far south as the 20th parallel 
and is considerable over certain areas, being 10° to 15° in Bering Sea, 10° to 20° 
in the Sea of Okhotsk, and 9° to 13° in the Yellow Sea; it is from 5° to 8° in the 
Gulf of Alaska, also from Japan and the Kuril Islands eastward between the 50th 
and 30th parallels to longitude 160° W., and to longitude 145° W., north of the 
35th parallel. The change is comparatively slight elsewhere. 

Along the Asiatic coast from the 60th parallel in Bering Sea to the 25th parallel 
the temperature ranges from 25° to 75°. It is slightly above 80° in the western 
part of the ocean in an area that reaches from the Equator as far north as the 24th 
parallel between longitudes 145° and 160° E.; thence eastward the 80° area dimin¬ 
ishes and extends to longitude 163° W. Along the American coast from the 64th 
parallel in Bering Sea to the 25th parallel on the Lower California coast the tempera¬ 
ture ranges from 30° to 80°; thence to Panama it is slightly above 80°. The 
isotherm of 75° crosses the Equator at longitudes 85° and 125° W., and reaches 
latitude 3° N. between longitudes 100° and 115° W. 

In mid-ocean the rise in temperature with decrease in latitude is quite uniform 
between the 54th and the 25th parallels. The dip and the subsequent recurve of 
the isotherms over the eastern part of the ocean are about the same as in September. 
On the great circle sailing route from San Francisco to Yokohama the temperature 
ranges from 48° to 66°. 

American Coast Winds. —Over the western part of the Gulf of Alaska the winds 
are variable; over the eastern portion and southward along the coast to latitude 
50° southeily and easterly winds prevail; from latitude 50° to latitude 40° they are 
mostly variable and calms are frequent; south of the 40th to near the 15th parallel 
they are northwesterly; thence to the 10th parallel they are light northeasterly; 
and from the 10th parallel to the Equator, westerly and southwesterly. Calms are 
frequent between the 25th and 5th parallels. 

Asiatic Coast Winds—The Monsoon. —South of latitude 35° N. the northeast 
monsoon covers the China Sea and extends as far south as the 10th parallel and 
as far east as longitude 140° E. The change from the southwest to the northeast 
monsoon is often sudden and accompanied by winds of storm force, usually during 
the last of September, when the continental summer “ low ” gives place to the 
winter “ high.” 

Winds of High Latitudes. —Northerly winds, force 4 to 5, predominate in the 
eastern part of Bering Sea. 

Westerly Winds. —Westerly winds, force 4 to 5, prevail over most of the ocean 
between parallels 55° and 40°. 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades occur between the 28th and 
10th parallels. They extend westward from longitude 125° W. and unite with the 
winds of the northeast monsoon at about longitude 140° E. These winds are mostly 
north-noitheasterly east of longitude 135° W., and northeast and east-northeast 
west of it. They blow steadily with average force 4, and in Honolulu prevail on 
an average 29 days in October. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend across the Equator from 
the South Pacific between longitudes 92° and 170° W. They reach their average 
northern limit, latitude 8° N., between longitudes 125° and 145° W. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is high along the American coast north of the 
5th parallel and in the narrow area between the northeast and the southeast trades; 
also in the vicinity of the islands in the southwestern part of the ocean. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is moderately high north of the 35th parallel. 
South of this region gales are comparatively few, except in the square bounded by 
latitudes 30° and 35° N., and longitudes 150° and 155° E., and East of Taiwan 
(Formosa). 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —There is an average occurrence of 3 typhoons 
in October. Their region of formation extends from latitude 6° to 17° N., and 
from longitudes 129° to 142° E. The typhoons likely to prove most dangerous to 
Manila are those which occur during May, September, October, and November. 


WEATHER AT SEA—NORTH PACIFIC 


863 


Along the western coasts of the Philippine Islands the winds are easterly and 
northeasterly, becoming light at sunset. If a steady breeze blows from any one 
quarter during an entire day, it is an indication of a typhoon having its center two 
to four points to the left of the point toward which the wind is blowing. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of storms of the higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog is much less in October than in Septem¬ 
ber, but it continues comparatively high off the American coast, being 30 from 
Vancouver to San Francisco and 30 to 20 thence southward to Cape San Lucas. 
Fog diminishes rapidly in other directions, except over an area between latitudes 
40° and 51° N., and longitudes 148° E. and 180°. The percentage is from 5 to 7 
over the China Sea and northward along the China coast to and including the 
Gulf of Pechili. 


November 

Pressure. —The Aleutian Low is deeper than in October, the lowest pressure 
being about 29.60 inches. The pressure is moderately low along the Equator. 
It increases in Asiatic waters, by reason of the eastward extension of the conti¬ 
nental high central over Mongolia. The North Pacific High moves nearer to the 
coast, and its central pressure decreases to 30.15 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature falls about 10° to 15° since October over the 
Japan and Yellow Seas and east of southern Japan to about longitude 150° E., 
also east of Hokushu and the Kuril Islands to about longitude 170° E. To the 
eastward of these areas to longitude 180° the temperature falls about 5° to 8°. 
It also falls about 5° to 8° in the Gulf of Alaska. The changes elsewhere are slight. 

Over Bering Sea the temperature is below freezing. Along the immediate 
Asiatic coast from Vladivostok to Hongkong the temperature ranges from 35° to 
73°. It is slightly above 80° in the western part of the ocean in an area that reaches 
from the Equator as far north as the 18th parallel between longitudes 130° and 
170° E.; thence eastward this area diminishes in width and extends to longitude 
155° W. at the Equator. Along the immediate American coast from latitude 59°, 
on the eastern border of the Gulf of Alaska, to latitude 20° N. the temperature 
ranges from 35° to 80°. It is slightly above 80° in an area that touches the coast 
between the 20th and 10th parallels. It is about 75° along the Equator between 
longitudes 88° and 130° W. . 

Over mid-ocean the temperature is 35° at latitude 51° N. and 75° at latitude 
25° N. The rise in temperature with decrease in latitude is quite uniform. On 
the great circle sailing route from San Francisco to Yokohama the temperature 
ranges from 42° to 60°. 

American Coast Winds. —Easterly winds prevail along the American coast in 
the eastern portion of the Gulf of Alaska; thence to the 40th parallel they are 
mostly from southerly quadrants; between the 40th and 15th parallels north¬ 
westerly winds prevail; and between the 15th and 10th parallels they are northerly 
and northeasterly. . . _ 

Asiatic Coast Winds.— The northeast (winter) monsoon, under the influence of 
the Asiatic High, covers the Philippine Islands, the China Sea, and the waters of 
the China coast as far north as Shanghai. Along the China coast the force of the 
monsoon is offset to some extent by land breezes at night, and vessels can make 
headway against it by hugging the shore. A rise in the barometer foreruns an 
increase in the strength of the monsoon and a fall a decrease. 

Westerlu Winds. —The prevailing winds are westerly over the greater part of 
the ocean between the 35th and 55th parallels, owing to the cyclonic circulation 
accompanying the Aleutian Low and the anticyclonic circulation accompanying 

the high pressure belt of the middle latitudes. o 

The Northeast Trades. —The northeast trades occur between the 12th and 25th 
parallels, except near their eastern limit, where they are found as far north aS Q the 
30th parallel. They are northeasterly to east-northeasterly from longitude 120 W. 
to 180°. They prevail about 18 days in Honolulu in November. In Asiatic waters 

they unite with the winds of the monsoon. m 

The Southeast Trades.— The southeast trades extend across the Equator from 
the South Pacific between longitudes 80° W. and 175° W. to slightly above the 7th 
parallel at their most northern limit. 


31 


864 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—NORTH PACIFIC 


Calms.—The percentage of calms is high along the greater part of the American 
and Asiatic coasts; also over the region west of longitude 175° E. and south of the 
10th parallel. 

Gales. Southeast to northwest gales occur frequently north of the 35th parallel 
but their number decreases along the coast. The prevailing direction is north¬ 
westerly west of longitude 165° W. between the 35th and 50th parallels. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks.— The region of the formation of the October and 
November typhoons is between the 6th and 17th parallels and longitudes 123° and 
155 E. There is an average occurrence of two over the entire region in November. 
Typhoons occur most frequently in September and least frequently in February. 

Th f \j Te lk 5 ly t0 P rove most dangerous to Manila during May, September, October 
and November. 

The storm tracks, given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of important 
storms and the distance traveled by each in 24 hours. The typhoon tracks are 
furnished by the Philippine Weather Bureau, and the approximate tracks of storms 
of middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory. The 
number of stoims of the higher latitudes is greatest in March and December and 
least in July. 

Fog.— The percentage of days with fog is generally less than in October. The 
area of maximum percentage, 20, is along the American coast from Vancouver to 
Cape San Lucas. The percentage is low across the ocean; it is 9 on the China 
coast from Hongkong to Shanghai, and 8 in the Eastern Sea and the Gulf of Pechili. 

December 

Pressure. The Aleutian Low lies to the northward and westward of its position 
in November, being central southwest of the Pribilof Islands, slightly below the 
55th parallel. Its lowest pressure continues at 29.60 inches. The pressure is 
h ? E , qu ? tor ' /be pressure of the Asiatic High increases. 
Its crest, 30.30 inches, extends beyond the coast of northern Chosen (Korea). The 
California High occupies a position slightly more to the southwest than in Novem- 

T^/lL C ,f r n i ra T P if e f Ure ’ 30 ; 20 1 ? c 1 b es > is .05 inch more than in November. 
Temperature.—The temperature falls 5° to 7° in Asiatic waters adjacent to the 
mainland between the 40th and 20th parallels and 5° to 8° in an irregular area 
that extends along the American coast between the 50th and 35th parallels. The 
latter area becomes narrower as it approaches its western limit, the 180th meridian, 

jjjSK 1 i 6XtendS °? ly K betwe f. n the 45th and 40th parallels. The changes elsewhere 
within the range of observations are slight. 

■D temperature touches the Asiatic mainland in the Gulf of 

Pechili at latitude 37 .crosses the central portion of the Kuril Islands and the west¬ 
ern extremity of the Aleutians, passing thence slightly to the north of the latter and 
reaching the American coast on the eastern border of the Gulf of Alaska. Along 
the immediate Asiatic coast from latitude 37° in the Gulf of Pechili to Hongkonf 
the temperature ranges from 32° to 65°; thence southward over the ChSa Sea m 
latitude 10 it ranges from 65^ to 80 . Along the American coast from latitude 57° 

JP*® +n S t t if ri Tr b0r + er * < i, f *1?® Gulf ° f Alaska to latitude 20° it ranges from 32° to 75°; 
thence to the Equator the temperature is slightly above 75°. It is slightly above 80° 

is£° e w 'SSVSi" K are V hat + l Xtends alon g the Equator as far ea g st a* lonlftude 
140° ^d 156° E . northern limit, the 18th parallel, between longitudes 

™ o 0 J er J?, id -ocean the temperature is 39° at latitude 50° N.- it is 75° at latitude 
20° N. The rise in temperature with decrease in latitude is quite uniform On 

Mngls'ftoS^o' XsS? r ° Ute fr ° m Sa " Francisc0 t0 Yokohama the temperature 

American Coast Winds.— The winds are easterly in the Gulf of Alaska in the 

Sv hb »r rh0 ° d tJ S . ltka ’ w d Soutkerly and westerly north of Vancouver Island. 
They are southeasterly between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and San Francisco 

easr e from h the 0 10th a t r o a lh e i thwaat , erly ^ + f f om the 20th to the 10th north to north- 
south westerly 10th * th 5th n ° rth t0 northwest ; and from the 5th to the Equator 

°f High Latitudes.—In Bering Sea the winds are easterly and north¬ 
easterly in the eastern portion north of the 60th parallel, and northerly and north 
t w h eate / y ? etween t + he 1 60th and 55th P ara »els. Between the 55?h and 50th pa?a£els 

$Zr‘ T °L W T Tly quadra ? ts eas * of longitude 175° E., and immediately west 
ot this meridian they are mostly southerly. J 

l ,A S ! a/ ! c Coas t Winds—The Monsoon.— West to northwest winds prevail along 
the Asiatic coast between the 45th and 30th parallels; they tend to become north 



WEATHER AT SEA—SOUTH PACIFIC 


865 


easterly between the 30th and 25th parallels. South of the 25th to the 5th parallel 
the northeast monsoon exerts its full force. Near the mainland the monsoon 
tends to follow the coast, and as it weakens slightly by night with an offshore breeze, 
northbound coasting vessels may then make fair headway against it. The thick 
rainy weather of the monsoon period makes navigation difficult on the northern 
and eastern coasts of Taiwan (Formosa) and Luzon. A rising barometer foreruns 
an increase and a falling barometer a decrease in the strength of the monsoon. 

The Northeast Trades. —Over the eastern half of the ocean the northeast 
trades extend northward almost to the 30th parallel; over the western half, to 
near the 25th parallel. They extend eastward to within 5 or 6 degrees of the Ameri¬ 
can coast and westward to the northeast monsoon region off the Asiatic coast. 
Over the eastern and western parts of the ocean they are northeasterly in direction, 
but more easterly over the central part. These winds extend to the Equator be¬ 
tween longitudes 150° and 175° E. In Honolulu they prevail 18 days during the 
month. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades extend north of the Equator 
between longitudes 85° and 155° W. They reach their most northern limit about 
the 6th parallel, between longitudes 110° and 120° W. Between longitudes 100° 
and 85° W. these equatorial winds blow steadily from the south. 

Calms. —The percentage of calms is high along the American coast south of the 
40th parallel, particularly between the 20th and 5th parallels; also over the regions 
west of Japan and Chosen (Korea), over most of the Philippine waters, and in the 
vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. 

Gales. —The percentage of gales is high over most of the ocean between the 
35th and 55th parallels, except in the vicinity of San Francisco and the Farallon 
Islands. Gales are also frequent over the 5-degree square southeast of Yokohama. 

Typhoons and Storm Tracks. —The average number of December typhoons is 
one as against two for November. The continental storms this month are more 
frequent than aie those of tropical origin. 

The storm tracks given in red on the pilot charts, show the paths of impoitant 
storms and the distance traveled in each 24 hours. The approximate tracks of 
storms in the middle and higher latitudes are furnished by the Zi-ka-wei Observa¬ 
tory, Pere H. Gauthier, compiler. The number of such storms is greatest in March 
and December and least in July. 

Fog. —The percentage of days with fog, 15, in the area of maximum percentage 
off the American coast between Vancouver and Cape San Lucas is less than in 
November. It continues low across the ocean and increases slightly in Asiatic 
waters, where the percentages are as follows: China coast from Hongkong to 
Shanghai, 14; Eastern Sea and Gulf of Pechili, 11; Japan Sea, 23. 

SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN 
Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 
December, January, and February (the Summer Season) 

Pressure. —The permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.20 inches, has moved 
about 5 degrees farther to the west and 2 degrees farther to the south since the 
spring; the center is now located at latitude 32° S. and longitude 102° W., having 
increased in extent and remains the same in intensity. Directly south of this 
area the gradients are steeper than to the north and there has been little change 
in their positions since the spring. Over the western part of the ocean the gradients 
are not so regular and the area of high pressure that in spiing extended to the 
eastward from the Australian coast has disappeared. The isobar of the lowest 
pressure shown on the chart, 29.30 inches, has changed little in position and runs 
in an easterly direction from the intersection of the 59th parallel of south latitude 
and the 90th meridian of west longitude. 

Temperature. —The area inclosed by the isotherm of 80° has moved somewhat 
to the south and west since the spring. Over the western and central part of the 
ocean the isotherms have moved southward from 3 to 8 degrees. On the 150th 
meridian of west longitude this movement is remarkably uniform, as all the iso¬ 
therms with the exception of that of 75° have moved from 5 to 6 degrees in latitude. 
On the eastern part of the ocean the isotherms of 60° to 75° curve to the south as 
they strike the coast, while these same lines for the previous season have a north¬ 
erly trend, recurving slightly to the south at the end. 

Winds. —The southeast trades that extend from 5° to 30° south latitude have 
moved 5 degrees to the south since the previous season. Directly south of the 
trade wind limits the winds are variable, while westerly winds prevail south of the 
40th parallel over the greater part of the ocean. 


866 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—SOUTH PACIFIC 


Gales .—Gales are now at their minimum, and as a rule the decrease in the 
number since spring is marked. In the 5-degree square from latitude 55° to 60° 
S. and longitude 70° to 75° W. the percentage has fallen from 26 to 8, while in 
only a few localities has there been even a slight increase. The “ Southerly 
Burster ” that prevails off the southeast coast of Australia is frequently met with 
during this season. It forms after an extremely hot period of weather and is 
often of a violent character, although the most severe portion of the storm is apt 
to be of short duration. 

March, April, and May (the Autumn Season) 

Pressure .—The permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.15 inches, has moved 
about 8 degrees to the east since the summer, the center now being near latitude 
32° S. and longitude 92° W.; it has decreased somewhat in intensity and con¬ 
tracted in extent, having assumed an elliptical form. There has been little change 
in the gradients either north or south of this area, and the isobar of the lowest 
pressure shown on the chart, 29.30 inches, has changed its position but little. 
There is a secondary area of high pressure, crest 30.10 inches, off the south coast 
of Australia, the western portion extending into the Indian Ocean. 

Temperature .—The 80° isotherm has moved to the eastward and now extends 
to the 130th meridian, west longitude, enclosing a much larger area than in the 
summer season, although the western end has moved about 8 degrees to the north. 
Over the central part of the ocean there has been a general southward movement of 
the isotherms, while south of latitude 20° S., off the coasts of Australia and South 
America, the movement has been to the north, although in the latter case the 
isotherms for the two seasons cross near the coast. 

Winds .—The southeast trades now extend from latitude 10° to 25° S. on the 
western part of the ocean and from the Equator to latitude 25° S. on the eastern. 
Directly south of the trade wind limits the winds are for the most part variable, 
while south of latitude 40° S. westerly winds prevail over the gieater part of the 
ocean. 

Gales .—There is a marked increase in the number of gales since summer; 
it is greatest in the square between latitudes 55° to 60° S. and longitudes 75° to 
80° W., where the percentage has risen from 12° to 30°. Storms of cyclonic origin 
occur only in the western part of the ocean, but as 90 per cent of them have been 
reported between the months of December and March, they are not likely to be 
encountered during the autumn season. This also holds true in regard to tornadoes 
and “ Southerly Bursters ” that prevail during the summer months off the south¬ 
east coast of Australia. 

June, July, and August (the Winter Season) 

Pressure .—The principal area of high pressure, crest 30.20 inches, extends 
between latitudes 27° and 35° S. and longitudes 87° and 111° W. It varies little 
in either extent or intensity, the total movement of its center during the year being 
about 10 degrees in longitude along the 30th parallel of south latitude. South of 
this area the isobars are much closer together than to the north, the effects of the 
steep gradients being shown in the increased force of the wind and the greater 
number of gales toward the south. A second area of high pressure, crest 30.10 
inches, extends east from the coast of Australia to longitude 167° E. 

Temperature .—The highest temperature over the ocean, 80°, is found west of 
longitude 140° W., between the Equator and latitude 10° S., while the lowest 
temperature shown, 40°, is located between latitudes 50° and 55° S. The tem¬ 
perature on the east coast of Australia ranges from 75° in the north to 50° in the 
south, the distance between the isotherms being nearly uniform, while on the 
other hand, as these lines approach the South American coast, the distance between 
them becomes very irregular. North of the 25th parallel the temperature on the 
South American coast is much lower than at the same latitude on the Australian 
coast, this being due to the effects of the cold Peru Current on the one hand and 
the warm East Australian Current on the other. 

Winds .—Between latitude 20° S., the southern limit of the southeast trades, 
and latitude 5° N., the northern limit, the winds are remarkably constant in direc¬ 
tion and force, the percentage of both gales and calms, as a rule, being low. Near 
the noithwestern coast of South America the prevailing direction of the trades is 
about south, there being a tendency for the winds to blow parallel with the coast, 
rhe winds are variable over the greater part of the ocean south of latitude 25° S., 
though they blow from westerly quadrants a gi eater portion of the time with an 
average force of 4 to 6. 


WEATHER AT SEA—INDIAN OCEAN 


867 


Gales. —There are few storms of cyclonic character during the winter season 
as nearly 90 per cent of them occur between December and March. The southerly 
“ Burster ” that prevails in the vicinity of southeast Australia during a large portion 
of the year is also raie at this season. There are few gales above latitude 20° S., 
while between the 20th and 30th parallels the percentage is about 3 for the western 
and central portions of the ocean and between 1 and 2 east of longitude 95° W. 
South of latitude 30° gales increase rapidly in number, the maximum percentage, 
28, being found between latitudes 55° and 60° S. and longitudes 90° and 95° W. 

September, October, and November (the Spring Season) 

Pressure. —The semi-permanent area of high pressure, crest 30.20 inches, 
central at latitude 30° S. and longitude 97° W., is practically the same in intensity 
and position as during the winter months, while it has increased slightly in area. 
South of this area the gradients are much steeper than to the north, and there has 
been little change in the position of the isobars since the previous season. A 
second area of high pressure, crest 30.00 inches, extends eastward from Australia 
to longitude 163° W. The isobar of the lowest pressure shown, 29.30 inches, 
extends from Cape Horn in a southwesterly direction, and its eastern end has 
moved slightly to the north since winter. 

Temperature. —The highest temperature shown, 80° is found west of longitude 
147° W. and between the Equator and latitude 13° S., while the isotherm of the 
lowest temperature, 40°, extends in a westerly direction from latitude 57° S. and 
longitude 70° W., its position having changed but little since winter. The distances 
between the isotherms off the Australian coast are remarkably uniform, while 
off the South American coast just the opposite is true, the irregularities being due 
to the effect of the Peru Current, which varies much more in intensity and tempeia- 
ture than the Australian Current. The average southerly movement of the iso¬ 
therms since winter is about 5° in latitude, though this movement is not altogether 
uniform, and in mid-ocean the temperature has changed but little. 

Winds. —The southeast trades prevail between the 5th and 20th parallels of 
south latitude, and are remarkably constant in both direction and force, while near 
the northwest coast of South America the tendency is for them to draw along the 
coast, becoming southerly. South of the trade-wind limits the winds are variable 
over the greater part of the ocean, although they prevail from the westerly quad¬ 
rants in the vicinity of Cape Horn and south of Australia. 

Gales. —There has been a decided decrease in the number of gales over the 
greater part of the ocean since the winter, except in the square southwest of Cape 
Horn where the percentage has increased from 20 to 26, while the average per¬ 
centage for the four squares to the westward of this square has fallen from 25 to 21. 
The “ Southerly Burster ” that prevails off the coast of southeast Australia during 
certain portions of the year, as well as storms of cyclonic character, first make 
their appearance in November, although they are not common until summer. 

INDIAN OCEAN 

Average Conditions of Wind and Weather 

January 

Pressure. —The pressure is highest over the southern Indian Ocean with two 
crests of 30.15 inches each between the 30th and 36th parallels, one being between 
longitudes 62° and 76° E. and the other between longitudes 88° and 100° E.; it is 
comparatively high, 30 to 30.05 inches, over the Indian Seas. The pressure is 
low near the Equator with a central pressure of 29.80 inches between latitudes 
3° and 10° S. and longitudes 75° and 90° E. Another low-pressure area is central 
between Borneo and Australia. The lowest pressure shown on the chart, 29.60 
inches, is south of the 45th parallel. . 

Temperature. —The tempeiature is about 83° at the Equator, thence northward 
it becomes gradually lower and is slightly below 75° at the extreme northern 
portions of the Indian Seas. From the Equator southward the temperature be¬ 
comes quite uniformly lower with increase in latitude and is slightly below 45 
at the 50th parallel. „ x „ .. 

The Monsoon Winds. —The northeast monsoon, force 2 to 5, prevails over the 
northern Indian Ocean and below the Equator along the African coast to about 
latitude 10° S. The northwest monsoon is more unsteady, and of lighter force, 
often sinking to a calm. It prevails over an area that borders on the southern 
li mi t of the northeast monsoon, touches the African coast between latitudes 10 


868 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—INDIAN OCEAN 


and 15° S., and extends across the ocean to and along the western coasts of Sumatra 
and Java. 

In the Persian Gulf and the southern part of the Red Sea the winds are south¬ 
easterly and northwesterly, and in the northern part of the Red Sea, northwesterly. 

Winds of the Trades Region. —The southeast trades are steadiest, force 3 to 5, 
to the eastward of the 70th meridian between the 10th and 30th parallels. West 
of 70° E. the trades are more easterly, and the winds become more variable toward 
the coast of Madagascar. The winds are northerly at the northern entrance of the 
Mozambique Channel, and southerly at the southern entrance. Easterly winds 
prevail between 30° and 35° S. and the 30th and 70th meridians. 

The Prevailing Westerlies. —South of the 35th parallel the prevailing winds are 
westerly, except that between Australia and 40° S. they are variable. South of 
40° S. the average force of the westerlies is 6, with frequent gales. 

Cyclones. —These severe storms seldom occur in the Bay of Bengal, and never 
in the Arabian Sea during January, although squally weather is occasionally ex¬ 
perienced in the Persian Gulf and along the Mekran coast. Cyclones originate 
more frequently in the southern ocean between Madagascar and the 90th meridian 
than during any other month. They first move in a southwesterly direction, then 
recurve to the southeast; their tracks are most numerous in the neighborhood of 
Mauritius and Reunion. 

Fog. —Little or no fog occurs north of latitude 30° S. The highest percentage of 
days with fog, 20 to 35, occurs along the 50th parallels between longitudes 40° 
and 60° E. 

February 

Pressure. —The pressure is highest over the southern Indian Ocean with two 
crests of 30.15 inches each between the 27th and 30th parallels, one being between 
longitudes 58° and 69° E. and the other between longitudes 81° and 92° E. Pres¬ 
sure is lowest over the southern portion near latitude 50° S. where it deepens to 
29.70 inches. It is also low in the eastern equatorial region, between Borneo and 
Australia, 29.80 inches, and comparatively low over the western equatorial portion. 

Temperature. —The temperature is about 83° over most of the region along the 
Equator, thence northward it becomes gradually lower and is slightly below 70° at 
the head of the Arabian Sea. The temperature south of the region along the 
Equator becomes quite uniformly lower with increase in latitude and is slightly 
below 40° at the 50th parallel. 

The Monsoon Winds. —The northeast monsoon, force 2 to 4, continues north 
of the Equator and down the African coast as far as Zanzibar. It is more northerly 
in the eastern portions of the Indian Seas and more easterly in the western portions. 
Between latitudes 0° and 10° S. and longitudes 60° and 80° E. northerly to north¬ 
westerly monsoons prevail; east of the 80th meridian, between the same latitudes, 
the winds are westerly, with frequent calms. 

The winds over the northern part of the Bay of Bengal are variable; over the 
northern part of the Arabian Sea, northerly to northwesterly; in the southern part 
of the Red Sea, southeasterly and northwesterly; and in the northern part, north¬ 
westerly. 

Region of the Southeast Trades. —This region is included between latitudes 
10 and 30° S., except west of longitude 75°, where the area is much contracted. 
Off the west coast of Australia southerly trades prevail; thence to the 70th meridian 
they are southeasterly; thence to Madagascar, easterly. Along the African coast 
between latitudes 10° and 20° S. northerly winds prevail. In the southern part 
of the Mozambique Channel the winds are southerly; thence to Port Elizabeth, 
northeasterly, and along the south coast of Africa to the Cape, westerly to southerly. 

The Prevailing Westerlies. —South of the 40th parallel westerly winds pre¬ 
dominate. The percentage of gales is highest in this region, but is lower in Febru¬ 
ary and March than during other months. 

Storms. Severe storms do not occur over the Indian Seas during February, 
although there are occasional squalls over Sokotra and off the Mekran coast. In 
the Bay of Bengal the monsoon sometimes attains the force of a gale. Cyclones 
are most frequent in the Southern Ocean between Madagascar and the 90th 
meridian during January and February. These storms on the average first move 
in a southwesterly direction, then recurve toward the southeast. 

_ l° 9 '~ hi g hes t percentage of days with fog, 20 to 25, occurs south of the 
45th parallel in two areas, one between longitudes 42° and 60° E., the other between 
80° and 110° E. The percentage decreases northward, and above the 30th parallel 
little or no fog occurs. 


WEATHER AT SEA—INDIAN OCEAN 869 


March 

Pressure. —The high over the western part of the Arabian Sea has moved 
northward, and its crest is now only 30.00 inches. The Equatorial low has filled 
in, its lowest pressure being 29.85 inches, over the East Indies. The pressure is 
highest, 30.15 inches, west of Australia, between latitudes 29° and 35° S., compara¬ 
tively high, 30.10 inches, immediately south of Australia, and lowest, 29.70 inches, 
south of latitude 45° S. 

Temperature. —Over most of the Equatorial region, including the Bay of Bengal 
and most of the Arabian Sea, the temperature is from 80° to 85°. It decreases 
gradually from 80° at latitude 20° S. to below 45° south of the 46th parallel. 

Winds North of the Equator. —The northeast monsoon, force 3, prevails over 
most of this region. The winds are from westerly quadrants at the heads of the 
Indian Seas, and become easterly in the Gulf of Aden. Winds of force 4 obtain 
in the Red Sea, being southeast and northwest over the southern part and north¬ 
west over the northern part. 

Winds between 0° and 10° S. —Between the Equator and 5° S. easterly winds 
prevail from the African coast to the 55th parallel, thence to the 75th parallel the 
winds are northerly, thence to Sumatra, mostly northerly and northwesterly. 
Over the rest of the region the winds are light and variable. 

Calms. —Calms occur most frequently around Sumatra, also over the lower 
portions of the Bay of Bengal and the Red Sea, and in the Mozambique Channel. 
The percentage is highest, 32, near Singapore. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades, force 4 to 5, blow generally 
between latitudes 10° and 30°. In the Mozambique Channel the winds are 
variable in the northern part and southerly between the 15th and 25th parallels. 
North of Australia they are easterly, southwesterly, and westerly. The African 
coast winds between parallels 25 and 30 are northeasterly. Between the 75th 
meridian and Madagascar the trades become east to east-southeast. 

The Prevailing Westerlies. —Between parallels 30 and 35 the winds are vari¬ 
able; south of this region the westerlies, force 4 to 6, predominate. Gales average 
about 10; the percentage is highest, 15 to 19, between latitudes 40° and 45° S. 
and longitudes 15° and 30° E. 

Storms. —Occasional squalls occur over the Indian Seas. South of the Equator 
cyclones are frequent. They form in the doldrums, near the limit of the trades, 
and move in a southwesterly direction, then generally recurve to the southeast. 

Fog. —The highest percentage of days with fog, 10 to 15, occurs between latitudes 
44° and 48° S. and longitudes 52° and 92° E. Elsewhere there is little fog. 

April 

Pressure. —The pressure is highest, 30.15 inches, west of Australia, between the 
28th and 37th parallels, and lowest, 29.60 inches, near the 50th parallel. It in¬ 
creases to 29.90 inches at the head of the Arabian Sea, and decreases to 29.80 
inches in a narrow belt extending 10° on each side of the Equator. 

Temperature. —Over most of the area extending from the heads of the Indian 
Seas to latitude 15° S. the temperature is comparatively high, ranging from 80° 
to 85°. It is 65° at latitude 35° S., thence falls rapidly to 40° at the 50th parallel. 

Winds North of the Equator. —The northeasterly winds of the winter monsoon 
are modified by the increasing continental warmth during April and May, and tend 
to become light and variable. Calms increase over the entire region, except the 
extreme northern waters of the Indian Seas. The winds are easterly in the Gulf 
of Aden; thence along the coast to the head of the Bay of Bengal they follow the 
general contour of the land. In the center of the seas there is a tendency to blow 
from the north or east, but southwesterly winds increase over the entire bay. 

Winds between 0° and 5° S. —The percentage of calms continues high over this 
region, being highest, 29, near Sumatra. Easterly winds prevail west of longitude 
50° E., and westerly winds between longitudes 50° and 100° E. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades, force 2 to 5, blow between 
latitudes 5° and 30° S. South of the 10th parallel they possess considerable 
steadiness; north of it they tend to become variable. Southeast to south winds 
occur west of Madagascar. 

The Prevailing Westerlies.— Between latitudes 30° and 40° S. the winds are 
variable, force 4 to 6, with the westerly component increasing toward the south. 
South of the 40th parallel strong westerly winds predominate, with an average of 
about 15 per cent of days with gales west of the 125th meridian. 

Cyclones. —During the first half of April the weather at the heads of the Indian 
Seas is as quiet as in March. Occasional storms form in the second half of the 


870 STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—INDIAN OCEAN 


month over the center or the southeastern part of the Arabian Sea, and move 
northeastward or northwestward. The infrequent storms of the Bay of Bengal 
form in the central or eastern part in connection with the southwest monsoon, and 
move northeastward. In the South Indian Ocean cyclones are less frequent than 
in March. They usually form 8° or 10° south of the Equator, move southwestward, 
and later recurve to the southeast. 

Fog. —Fog is rare north of latitude 35° S., and the percentage is low south of it. 
The highest percentage of days with fog, 10 to 20, occurs in a small area south of 
the 43d parallel, between longitudes 43° and 56° E. 

May 

Pressure. —North of 5° south latitude the pressure is 29.75 to 29.80 inches, 
being lowest at the heads of the Indian Seas, where the warm weather low is 
advancing from southern Asia. South of 5° S. the pressure increases to the crest 
of high pressure, 30.20 inches, that lies between latitudes 23° and 31° S. and 
longitudes 44° and 88° E. South of the high the pressure decreases more rapidly 
than north of it, and is about 29.50 inches near the 50th parallel. 

Temperature. —The temperature is 85° yer the southern portion of the Red 
Sea, the greater portion of the Indian Seas, and southward, west of the 75th 
meridian, to the Equator. Below the Equator it is 80° as far as latitude 12° on the 
eastern and 22° on the western side of the ocean. In general the temperatures are 
higher in the same latitude on the western than on the eastern side, as far as 
latitude 45° S. The temperature decreases to about 40° in mid-ocean near lati¬ 
tude 50° S. 

Winds North of the Equator. —Westerly winds prevail north of the Equator 
over most of the region west of the 100th meridian. The southwest (summer) 
monsoon gradually develops over the entire area during May, but the attainment 
of its full strength occurs in June and is usually accompanied by severe squalls. 
Easterly winds prevail in the Gulf of Aden, and northwesterly winds, force 3 to 4, 
over most of the Red Sea. Calms occur 10 to 20 per cent of the time over most 
of the region between the Equator and 15° north. 

The Southeast Trades. —These trade winds, force 3 to 4, prevail over the area 
between the Equator and latitude 30° S. Over the extreme northern and southern 
portions of this area the trades are broken by variable winds, and calms are frequent 
between the Equator and 10° S. The trades are steadiest between latitudes 10° 
and 25° S. Along the African coast near the Equator they follow the contour of 
the land and merge into the southwest monsoon. 

The Prevailing Westerlies. —Between latitudes 30° and 35° S. the winds are 
strong and variable, with a tendency to become westerly. Farther south the 
prevailing direction is westerly, force 5 to 6. 

Gales. —Gales are confined mainly to the southern part of the ocean over the 
area dominated by the westerly winds. As autumn advances the percentage of 
days with gales increases. In May it averages about 15 per cent between the 
35th and 40th parallels and 20 per cent near the 50th parallel. The percentage 
decreases toward the Equator. 

Cyclones. —These storms occur with increasing frequency over the Indian 
Seas as spring advances. They may form at any time during May, but in the 
Arabian Sea are most likely to appear during the second half of the month. They 
are usually severe and move in a direction between west and north-northeast. 
In the South Indian Ocean cyclones decrease in number. They originate in the 
northern part of the trade-wind area, move first in a southwesterly direction, then 
usually recurve to the southeast. The storm of May 24-28, 1916, is the only one of 
record in the annals of the Royal Alfred Observatory, Mauritius, which traveled 
to the west of Rodriguez after the 29th of April. 

Fog. —An area of 20 to 30 per cent of days with fog occurs near the 50th parallel 
between the 30th and 70th meridians. The percentage decreases slowly east and 
west of this area, and rapidly north of it. There is practically no fog north of 
latitude 30° S. 

June 

Pressure. —The continental summer low, pressure 29.55 to 29.60 inches, is 
well established over the heads of the Indian Seas. There is an increase north¬ 
ward to 29.70 inches over the Red Sea. A belt of high pressure lies between 
Australia and Southern Africa with its crest, 30.15 inches, off the African coast 
between Madagascar and latitude 30° S. South of this belt the barometer falls 
29.60 inches near latitude 50° S. 


WEATHER AT SEA—INDIAN OCEAN 


871 


Temperature. —The temperature is 80° to 90° north of latitude 10° S. The 
highest temperature for the month, 90°, occurs over the western part of the Gulf 
of Aden and the southern part of the Red Sea. Over most of the Arabian Sea and 
the western part of the Bay of Bengal, the temperature is 85° to 88°. South of 
latitude 10° S. the temperature falls quite uniformly to 45° or 40° between the 
45th and 50th parallels. 

The Southwest Monsoon. —Except for northwest winds over the Red Sea and 
the Persian Gulf, the southwest monsoon, force 3 to 5, dominates the ocean north 
of the Equator. It overspreads the Arabian Sea early in June, and by the third 
week is in full force over the Bay of Bengal. Severe thunder storms, thick, cloudy 
weather, and gales, with occasional dangerous cyclones, occur during the period 
immediately preceding the full force of the monsoon. 

The Southeast Trades. —The southeast trades, force 3 to 5, occupy most of the 
region between the Equator and latitude 25° S., except between 0° and 5 S., 
east of the 75th meridian, where the winds are variable with about 10 per cent of 
calms. West of the 65th meridian, between 0° and 5° S., the trades become 
merged with the southwest monsoon. . , 

The Prevailing Westerlies.— Between latitudes 25° and 30° S. light variable 
winds prevail, though west of longitude 65° easterly winds predominate. Over 
most of the area south of 30° S. winds from the westerly quadrant prevail, average 
force 6. The percentage of gales in this region is high, increasing toward the south. 
The average is about 20 per cent, except in the region immediately south of Aus¬ 
tralia, where the percentage is much less. . _ j* ^ 

Cyclones. —Cyclonic storms are rare this month in the South Indian Ocean. 
They have increased in number over the Indian Seas, where most of them form 
during the early half of the month in advance of the monsoon. In the Arabian Sea 
they are usually severe; they originate off the upper cost of India, and move slowly 
in a northwesterly direction, passing into the Persian Gulf, or entering the Arabian 
Desert. The cyclones of the Bay of Bengal are less severe than those of the 

Ara poa n —The area of highest percentage of days with fog, 15 to 20, lies between 
latitudes 43° and 48° S. and longitudes 38° and 58° E. From this area fog decreases 
in all directions and practically disappears north of the 35th parallel. 

July 

Pressure.— The areas of highest and lowest pressure present much the same 
appearance as in June, except that they are slightly intensified—^ 
in Indian waters having decreased to 29.50 inches over the northern part of the 
Arabian Sea and the high pressure in latitudes 25 -30 S. ha . vl ?S ^creased to 
30.30 inches and moving toward mid-ocean. The pressure at 50 S. is about 

^Temperature .—In the Indian Sea area the temperature has fallen slightly over 
thp Tune average owing to the cloudy skies of the monsoon but the mean is 80 
to 85° over most of the region north of 10° S. lat j tud ® except for 8° ®r 10 east o e 
coast of Africa south of Cape Guardafui, where the temperature is 78 or 79 . The 
temperature at 30° S. is 64° to 70° and at the 50th parallel about 40 . 

Winds—The Monsoon. —The southwest monsoon is a settled wind north of the 
Eauator and blows strongly force 5 to 6 as during the last days of June. It pene¬ 
trates into the Gulf of Aden, but in the Red Sea the winds are northwesterly force 4. 

Variables The winds are moderately light and variable over a narrow belt 

ooet /f meridian between 0° and 5° S. where the monsoon is separated 

fnfm ‘the^outhea^^rad^windY. 6 6 West of the 70 th pridian t^eUne of demarca- 

The^orce^^the'tt^e 

in the Mozambique Channel and easterly winds west of 65 E. between parallels 
^f^i-South of the 35th parallel across the ocean and south of the 30th 

^°Ct/cfones ^Tlie'cyclonesof^uly 0 are Usually of slight intensity and are rare 

SSSS-SHSrSSSF 


872 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—INDIAN OCEAN 


Fog. —The fog area has changed only slightly as a whole over the Southern 
Ocean. East of the 90th meridian the area has narrowed. Between the 40th and 
60th meridians, south of the 43d parallel, the occurrence of fog is more frequent 
than in June, having increased to 20 to 30 per cent of days with fog. 

August 

Pressure. —The pressure distribution is the same in August as in July, except for 
slight modifications. Over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea the summer 
area of low pressure shows a slight increase over the northern portion now averag¬ 
ing 29.60 inches. Along the Equator the average pressure is about 29.85 inches. 
The area of high pressure 30.30 inches at its crest has moved westward from mid¬ 
ocean and is central along the 30th parallel of south latitude. At 50° S. the low 
pressure is permanent; in August it is from 29.65 to 29.70 inches. 

Temperature. —In African coast waters the temperature averages from 63° 
south of Cape Agulhas to 80° at Cape Guardafui and from 80° to 90° in the Gulf of 
Aden and the Red Sea. North of the Equator the lowest temperature slightly 
below 80° is over the western part of the Arabian Sea but the whole Indian area 
is cooler than during May and early June, owing to the heavy monsoon clouds. 
The temperature is near 40° along the 50th parallel. 

Winds—The Monsoon. —The southwest monsoon is the prevailing wind, force 
3 to 5, north of the Equator, but has decreased in force since July. The skies 
continue generally cloudy, and gales are prevalent, especially over the western 
part of the Arabian Sea over and to the eastward of Socotra. The winds are mainly 
northwesterly in the Red Sea. 

The Southeast Trades. —From the Equator to about 3° south latitude the 
winds are light and variable, but show a tendency to become affected, more or less, 
by the monsoon to the north and the trades to the south. The southeast trades, 
though rarely attaining force 5, are comparatively steady between 5° and 25° S. 

Between 25° and 35° S. winds from all quadrants often occur, although over the 
eastern half of the belt the tendency is to become westerly and southerly, and over 
the western half to become easterly and northerly, following the normal circulation 
around the “ high.” 

The Westerlies. —South of the variables over the belt of high pressure the 
winds are mainly westerly, force 4 to 6, although interrupted by passing cyclones 
peculiar to the middle latitudes. Gales occur from a sixth to a third of a time 
between 35° and 50° S. 

Tropical Cyclones. —Few of these dangerous storms occur in August. These 
few are confined to the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, and are never as severe 
as during the spring and autumn months. 

Fog. The percentage of days with fog is low over the southern ocean. The 
highest percentage is only 10 to 15, and occurs between 42° and 50° S. and 20° 
and 50° E. 


September 

Pressure. —The pressure over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is about a 
tenth of an inch higher in September than in August; the minimum at the heads 
of the seas is about 29.70 inches. The equatorial pressure is 29.85 to 29.90 inches. 
The highest pressure occurs between 20° and 30° south latitude, with the crest, 
30.20 inches, over the western part of the ocean southeast of Madagascar. Near 
the 50th parallel the pressure, as in August, is about 29.70 inches. 

Temperature. —The changes in temperature, as a rule, are slight since August. 
Owing to the decreased cloudiness over the western part of the Arabian Sea, that 
region is somewhat warmer than in the previous month. Most of the ocean north 
of 10 S. has a temperature of about 80°. A maximum of 85° to 90° occurs over the 
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. From 10° S. to 30° N. there is little more than a 
range of 12 in temperature, but over a similar extent from 10° S. to 50° S. there is a 
range of more than 40° in temperature. 

The Southwest Monsoon. —The southwest monsoon continues north of the 
Equator, and is strongest, force 4 to 5, over the center of the Bay of Bengal and the 
southwestern part of the Arabian Sea, but it is weaker than in August and is 
gradually being replaced by the variable winds which precede the winter monsoon. 
Northwesterly winds prevail over most of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. 

Southeast Trades and Doldrums.— The average southern limit of the southeast 
trades is about 25 S. The northern limit is between 5° S. and the Equator, and 
in this region the doldrums occupy a width of about 5° of latitude over the eastern 
half of the ocean, thence diminish in width westward. The average force of the 
trades is 3 to 4. 


WEATHER AT SEA—INDIAN OCEAN 


873 


“ Horse Latitude ” Winds and Westerlies. —South of the trades over the 
ridge of high pressure between 25° and 35° S., the more or less variable winds of 
the “ horse latitudes ” occur. On the north they show the influence of the trades 
and on the south the influence of the westerlies. 

Between 35° and 50° S. the winds are mostly westerly, with average force of 
nearly 6. In this region gales are frequent, averaging 20 to 27 per cent of the winds 
over half of the area. 

Cyclones.- —Tropical storms are confined principally to the Bay of Bengal. 
Here occur in September the undeveloped cyclones peculiar to August, and in 
addition the more dangerous whirls of autumn. The earlier the northeasterly 
winds set in, that much earlier is there a piedisposition to storms of a severe type. 

Fog. —The region of fog shows little change from that of August. The per¬ 
centage of days with fog is light over even the most frequented areas, the maximum 
being 10 to 15 per cent over an extent roughly defined within latitudes 42° and 48° S. 
and longitudes 15° and 47° E. 

October 

Pressure. —The seasonal change in pressure over the Indian Ocean for October 
is most important over the north equatoiial region. The increasing pressure over 
Asia is spreading to the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, and the central area of 
lowest pressure for these seas, now 29.80 inches, has moved southward and covers 
most of the region between latitudes 15° N. and 5° S. The permanent ridge of 
high pressure lies between Australia and southern Africa. Its crest fluctuates in 
position from month to month and sometimes divides, as in October, when one 
crest (30.15 inches) appears southeast of Madagascar and the other (30.20 inches) 
over the eastern half of the ocean. The lowest pressure on the chart (29.60 inches) 
is near the 50th parallel of south latitude. 

Temperature. —Over most of the Red Sea the temperature is 85° to 88°. Over 
most of the Indian Sea region and thence southward to latitude 10° or 13° S. the 
temperature is between 80° and 83°. Between 20° and 35° south latitude, off the 
west Australian coast, the temperatureis 58° to 70°,or 5° to 10 ° lower than in the 
same latitudes off the east African coast. The temperature falls to about 40° 
near the 50th parallel. 

Winds North of the Equator—The Monsoon. —As the pressure changes the 
winds also change over the region north of the Equator. The southwest monsoon 
is weakening and disappearing and the northeast monsoon is gaining strength 
toward the last of the season. In consequence, the winds are variable with 
frequent calms over the northern seas. There is a considerable northerly com¬ 
ponent of the winds, however, over the Arabian Sea. Between 10° N. and the 
Equator the winds are westerly, except near the coast of Africa, where they are 
mostly southerly. In the Red Sea calms are frequent; the predominating winds 
are southeasterly in the southern part and northwesterly in the northern part. 

The Southeast Trades. —The trades have changed very little since September 
and occupy practically the same area, between parallels 5° and 25° S., blowing with 
force 2 to 4. They blow across the Equator in African coast waters. These winds 
prevail to some extent in the Mozambique Channel, with local modifications, which 
give a northerly turn to the winds at the northern entrance and a southerly turn 
at the southern entrance. 

Winds from 25° to 50° S. —Between latitudes 25° and 35° S. are the calms and 
variable winds of the “ horse latitudes.” The winds, however, are inclined to 
become southerly over the eastern end of the belt and northerly over the western 
end. Over the southern part of the belt gales are increasing in frequency, and south 
of the 35th parallel, over the region where westerly winds prevail, an average of 
about one-fifth of the winds are of gale force. 

Tropical Cyclones. —Tropical cyclones begin to occur at rare intervals in the 
South Indian Ocean this month. In the seas north of the Equator, particularly 
in the Bay of Bengal, the fall season of severe cyclones is at its height. These 
storms may form over any part of the bay, not being limited to the northern part, 
as during midsummer. They are likely to occur following a considerable period of 
fine weather, and October is, therefore, considered to be the most treacherous 
month of the year in these waters. 

Fog. —Little fog occurs north of the 30th parallel of south latitude, and the 
percentage of days with fog is low south of it. The area of most frequent occur¬ 
rence, 10 to 20 per cent of days with fog, is west of the 40th meridian, south of the 
48th parallel. 


874 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP—INDIAN OCEAN 


November 

Pressure. —The southward movement of the continental high has caused a 
considerable increase in the pressure over the northern waters of the Arabian 
Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the pressure being 30 inches at the head of the Arabian 
Sea. Two centers of low pressure, 29.80 inches each, appear, one over the eastern 
part of the Arabian Sea and the other south of the Bay of Bengal. High pressure 
continues between Australia and southern Africa with the crest, 30.20 inches, near 
Australia. The pressure decreases thence southward and is 29.50 inches over a 
part of the ocean near latitude 50° S. 

Temperature. —The autumnal fall in temperature is being felt over the northern 
portions of the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal, but over most of 
the ocean north of 10° south latitude the temperature continues to average about 
80°. The southern limit of the isotherm of 80° is in the Mozambique Channel 
near 23° south latitude. Between 15° and 35° S. the western part of the ocean is 
considerably warmer than the eastern part. The isotherm of 70°, for instance, 
while it rises from mid-ocean and reaches Australia near 21° S., falls as it ap¬ 
proaches the African coast, which it touches near latitude 34° S. There is little 
difference in temperature across the ocean near the 50th parallel, the mean being 
approximately 40°. 

Winds of the Monsoon Region. —The northeast monsoon prevails over most 
of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, although traces of the summer monsoon 
linger in the southern part of the Bay. Between 5° N. and the Equator, except near 
the African coast, where the northeast monsoon and the southeast trades converge, 
the westerly monsoon is the prevailing wind. Over most of the Gulf of Aden the 
prevailing winds are easterly, but they are southeasterly at the entrance to the 
Red Sea and continue southeasterly as far north as the 20th parallel, above which 
northwesterly winds are general. 

Calms. —Calms occur most frequently over the northern and southern portions 
of the Indian Seas and throughout the neighborhood of the East Indies. 

The Southeast Trades. —The average northern and southern limits of these 
winds are nearly along latitudes 5° and 27° S., respectively. The trades blow with 
greater steadiness, force 3 to 4, between latitudes 10° and 20° S. In the vicinity 
of Madagascar the winds are mostly southeasterly to northeasterly on the eastern 
side; in the Mozambique Channel they are easterly to northerly at the northern 
entrance and easterly to southerly at the southern entrance. 

The Westerlies. —Between latitudes 30° and 50° S. the prevailing winds are 
westerly. They generally increase in force toward the south, and south of the 
40th parallel from 11 to 22 per cent of the winds are gales, the highest percentages 
being toward mid-ocean. 

Tropical Cyclones. —The tropical cyclones of the Bay of Bengal are fewer and 
less intense than during October. Their average occurrence in the Arabian Sea 
is one during November. A few of the cyclones of the Arabian Sea have crossed 
India from the bay. The storm movement is usually in a west-northwesterly 
direction at first, later recurving through north into northeast. 

Hurricanes are increasing in strength and number in the south Indian Ocean. 
They originate over that belt of the ocean lying between Sumatra and Madagascar. 
They usually move first in a southwesterly direction, later often recurving through 
south into southeast. 

Fog. —Little or no fog occurs north of 30° S. and the percentage is low south of 
that parallel. There is a moderate local increase to 15 to 20 per cent of days with 
fog near the 50th parallel to the west of the 50th meridian. 

December 

Pressure. —The Equatorial depression of December is marked by three fairly 
well-defined lows, pressure 29.80 inches each—one south of the Arabian Sea; 
another west of Sumatra; and a third between Australia and Borneo. Moderately 
high pressure prevails over the northern portions of the Indian Seas and the 
Red Sea, and high pressure, with a crest of 30.20 inches, continues between 
Australia and southern Africa. Near the 50th parallel the pressure is 29.60 inches. 

Temperature. —The temperature is about 75° at the heads of the Indian Seas; 
but between about 10° or 15° north and south of the Equator it is 80° to 82°. South 
of this region of high temperature there is a gradual fall to 45° between the 45th and 
50th parallels. 

The Northeast Monsoon. —The northeast (winter) monsoon, force 3 to 4, 
prevails over the Indian waters and extends down the African coast to latitude 10° S. 


WEATHER AT SEA—INDIAN OCEAN 


875 


Northwesterly winds prevail in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and 
easterly winds in the Gulf of Aden. In the southern part of the Red Sea the winds 
are southeasterly and in the northern part northwesterly. 

Equatorial Winds and Calms. —Between 5° N. and 10° S., except along the 
coast of Africa, light winds, with frequent calms, prevail. Over the northern 
part of the area northerly winds are most numerous; between 0° and 5° S. the 
winds are westerly; and between 5° and 10° S., westerly and southeasterly. The 
percentage of calms near Sumatra is about 20. 

The Southeast Trades. —These winds occur between 10° and 30° S. east of the 
50th meridian. Their average force is 3 to 4. West of Madagascar the winds 
are mostly northeasterly and southeasterly; south of Madagascar, easterly. 

Winds South of 30° S.—Between 30° and 35° S. from Africa to the 60th meridian 
the winds are easterly. Elsewhere generally south of the 30th parallel westerly 
winds prevail. The westerlies blow with force 5 to 6 south of 35° S., and over 
most of the region gales are frequent. 

Cyclones. —Cyclones are rare in the Arabian Sea in December, and seldom 
form in the Bay of Bengal after the middle of the month. Cyclonic storms increase 
in number in the South Indian Ocean where their tracks are embraced between 5° 
and 35° S.—They move at first toward the southwest, then recurve toward the 
southeast. 

Fog. —The northern limit of fog is irregular, but in general is south of the 30th 
parallel. The percentage is low, as a rule, but there is a maximum area of 15 to 20 
per cent of days with fog south of the 45th parallel to the west of the 70th meridian. 


Explanation 

The writer wishes to say here that the foregoing summation 
of the weather to be expected all over the world is not intended 
for regular reading. 

When voyages are being planned, or are in progress, these 
valuable summaries, prepared by the U. S. Weather Bureau, 
are here for the use of the seaman. 

Active cooperation of seamen of all nations in the work of 
collecting weather data has made these forecasts possible. 
The writer, on many a voyage, has marveled at their accuracy. 
But the seaman must remember that only average conditions 
are set down. At sea the unexpected and the unusual must 
always be reckoned with. 

Note:—Marine observers and all shipmasters should make 
application for u Weather of the Oceans” issued monthly by the 
U. S. Weather Bureau . It will be sent to them free of charge. 


CHAPTER 21 


SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 

I 

General 

The crew of a vessel are unlike al¬ 
most any other group of workers. They 
live with their work, their home, for 
the time they are on a voyage, is the 
ship. The work is extremely hazard¬ 
ous if carried on by men who are not 
thoroughly trained. But even with the 
best training and under the best possi¬ 
ble conditions casualties at sea will 
average higher than on land. 

Loss of life at sea in the merchant 
service was so abnormal during the 
World War that figures for this period 
are of no value in computing averages. 
In the Bulletin of The American Mu¬ 
seum of Safety, of October, 1917, Dr. Frederick L. Hoffman, 
statistician for the Prudential Insurance Company, published a 
paper on the accident hazard at sea covering the decade before 
1914. The following extract is taken from this paper by per¬ 
mission. 

“ Loss of life in the American merchant marine may be con¬ 
servatively based upon the assumption of a fatality rate of three 
per 1,000, which, in all probability, is rather below than above the 
facts of actual experience. In the British merchant marine the 
corresponding fatality rate is five per 1,000. 

“ . . . A clear distinction requires to be made between navi¬ 
gation hazards proper, or such as are directly attributable to 
weather and other agencies resulting in maritime disasters, and 
accidents more or less inherent or incidental to maritime employ¬ 
ment, such as directly concern the men employed in navigation 
and occupations pertinent thereto, as separate and distinct from 

876 





SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


877 


accidents to passengers or other persons on board, in conse¬ 
quence of maritime casualties more or less extraneous to the 
management of the vessel as such. 

“ Primarily, the causes of maritime disasters are foundering, 
stranding and collisions, which in the American experience for 
recent years account for 62 per cent of the disasters attributable 
to all causes. Of the total, 7.5 per cent were attributable to 
foundering, 24.4 per cent to stranding and 29.9 per cent to colli¬ 
sions. In the case of vessels on the Great Lakes, however, 
foundering accounts for only 4.3 per cent of the disasters, while 
stranding accounts for 27.8 per cent and collisions for 34.3 per 
cent. 

“ There are no trustworthy statistics for the United States 
regarding the loss of life in navigation, and practically no statistics 
whatever regarding the injuries sustained in connection with 
the labor on ships or in the loading and unloading, or in the 
handling of freight, or other duties of ’longshoremen, etc. Since 
the inherent risk of all maritime occupations is the danger of 
drowning, it is but in conformity to the anticipated results, as 
disclosed by the industrial experience of the Prudential Insur¬ 
ance Company, that in contrast to a proportion of 1.3 per cent of 
deaths by drowning in the mortality from all causes for all occu¬ 
pied males, the proportion was 11.0 per cent for persons em¬ 
ployed in navigation. 

“ According to the medico-acturial experience, the general 
mortality of men employed in navigation is considerably above 
the average of employments without exposure to navigation 
hazards. In the experience of the British merchant marine the 
accident fatality rate was 5.0 per 1,000 for all maritime occu¬ 
pations during the period 1909-1913, or, specifically, 4.8 per 
1,000 for masters, 4.6 for sailors and 4.2 for engineers. As 
regards the fatality hazard at sea, there would, therefore, appear 
to be no very material difference in the accident liability of the 
most specific occupations. 

“ Since the most important difference in navigation relates to 
the motive power employed, it is extremely significant that 
according to British experience, the accident liability in the 
navigation of sailing vessels should be very decidedly in excess 
of the corresponding accident liability of steam vessels. During 
the period 1909-1913 the general mortality rate (including 
diseases) was 12.7 per 1,000 for men on sailing vessels, against 
3.8 per 1,000 for men on steam vessels. The accident mortality 
due to wrecks and casualties was 8.1 per 1,000 for men on sailing 
vessels, against 1.5 per 1,000 for men on steam vessels. The 
mortality due to other accidents was 2.6 per 1,000 for sailing 
vessels and 0.6 per 1,000 for steam vessels. The mortality from 
diseases, excluding suicides and homicides, was 2.0 per 1,000 


878 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


for sailing vessels and 1.7 per 1,000 for steam vessels. It is, 
therefore, self-evident that the replacement of sailing vessels 
has very materially reduced the hazards to life in navigation 
and, in all probability, in a measure an improvement has also 
resulted in the general health of the men, largely, no doubt, 
because of better sanitary conditions, more commodious sleeping 
quarters, better ventilation, etc. 

“ Further reduction in the accident rate has resulted from the 
ever-increasing average size of the vessels employed. For 
illustration, according to the American experience for recent 
years for vessels under 100 tons, in distress, 47.8 were lost 
against a loss of only two per cent in the case of vessels of a size 
of 6,000 tons and over.” 

From the foregoing it will be noted that steamers are safer 
than sailers, and that large vessels are safer than small ones, 
all of which seems reasonable. On the other hand, the losses 
at sea are out of all proportion. Too little thought is given to 
safety work, sanitation, and morale. 

The regular operations of seamanship call for precautions at 
every turn and these should be emphasized as a matter of course. 
The slinging of scaffold planks is often slovenly done by means 
of a marling hitch. Scaffold planks should be specially fitted 
with suitable cross bars and strong rope bridles. 

Marling spikes should all be fitted with long lanyards so that 
when working aloft a man may sling the lanyard around his neck 
and keep it there while working. Always carry a spike, point 
up, with a half hitch of the lanyard about the point. 

Rope off all hatch openings when not working. 

Cover all hatches , especially at night. 

Rope off ’tween deck hatches in the trunks and wells where 
passageways open alongside of them. 

See that all gangways are fitted with efficient hand rails. 
See that the top of hand rails comes to the rail of the vessel, or 
is connected with it by a suitable rope. Have gangways properly 
lighted . 

Do not send men into tanks or peaks until certain that these 
are gas free . Always send men into such places with a French 
bowline (see page 86). 

At sea always have efficient life lines fitted across the well 
decks. 


SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


879 


Be certain that all heavy weights on deck, and in the ’tween 
decks and holds are securely lashed. 

In going aloft grab hold of the shrouds. Never grab ratlines. 

Never permit men to drop gear or blocks from aloft. 

Examine all gantlines, bo’s’n’s chairs, etc., before sending 
men aloft. Never use worn gantlines. 

Do not allow smoking near the paint or oil lockers. 

Do not allow smoking in or near the holds. 

Never use worn or doubtful cargo gear or other ship’s gear. 

When in the stream avoid the use of shore boats , especially 
at night. The writer lost two men who started back to the ship 
at night in a skiff. When clear of a breakwater, which gave 
them a false sense of security, they were swamped and drowned. 

Always keep an eye on the possible accidents that are looking 
for a chance to happen. 

An officer who is alive to his job will feel the responsibility 
resting upon him. Men who have this feeling generally go about 
their business in a business-like way. There is very little 
monkey work going on when they are on the job. Seamen 
recognize such officers and attend strictly to business. The 
officer who is too inexperienced to look after certain things, who 
gets out of the way of trouble, generally finds it waiting for him 
just around the corner of the Old Man’s cabin door. 


II 

Drowning 

Many seamen are indifferent swimmers. Living so near the 
water they gain a certain contempt for it. In merchant vessels 
where not too much attention is given to the crew after working 
hours, many men go along for years without learning to swim. 
It would be a good plan to make all hands go overboard at least 
once a week when in waters where this can be done. If the 
Chief Mate sends all hands over the side for a half hour during 
the Sunday morning washdown, it would do a lot of good. The 
Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has 
published an excellent set of rules for rescuing and restoring the 
apparently drowned which are here given. 


880 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


How to Effect a Rescue 


A. The Best Method when there is No Struggling 

Provided the drowning person 
does not struggle, turn him on his 
back, place your hands on either 
side of Iris' face. Then turn on 
your back, hold him in front of you, 
and swim with the back stroke, 
taking care to keep his face above 
the surface of the water. 
Remember that it is most important to keep the face of the 
drowning person above the surface of the water. Avoid all jerk¬ 
ing, struggling or tugging, but swim with a regular, well-timed 
kick of the legs, husbanding the strength for continued effort. 

B. The Best Method for One Who Struggles 
When the drowning person is struggling, and difficult to man¬ 
age, turn him on his back, and take a firm hold of his arms 
just above the elbows. Draw the 
arms upwards at right angles to the 
body and swim with the back 
stroke. This hold will put the 
drowning person under the control 
of the rescuer, who can prevent him 
from turning round or clutching. 

When carrying a struggling person on the surface of the water 
it will be of advantage to keep the elbows well out from the sides, 
as this expands the chest, inflates the lungs and adds to his 
buoyancy. The legs should be kept well up to the surface, the 
body being as horizontal as possible. 




C. The Best Method for One Who Struggles Violently 
If the arms be difficult to grasp or the struggling so violent as 
to prevent a firm hold, slip your hands under the armpits of the 
drowning person and place them on his chest or round his arms. 

Raise them at right angles to the 
body, thus placing the drowning per¬ 
son completely in your power. Then 
turn on your back and swim with 
the back stroke. 

Rescuers should at all times be 
governed by circumstances, using 
their judgment which method to 
adopt in conveying the drowning person to shore, taking care 
to avoid wasting their strength hopelessly against tide or stream 
—always float or swim with it and gradually make for shore, 
or wait until a boat or other help arrives. 





SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


881 


D. If Clutched by the Wrists 

If the rescuer be held by the 
wrists, turn both arms simultane¬ 
ously against the drowning person’s 
thumbs, outwards, and bring the 
arms at right angles to the body, 
thus dislocating the thumbs of the 
drowning person if he does not 
leave go. 

E. If Clutched Round the Neck 
If clutched round the neck, take a deep breath, lean well over 
the drowning person, immediately 
place one hand in the small of his 
back and pass the other over on 
to his face; with the thumb and 
forefinger pinch the nostrils close, 
at the same time place the palm 
of the hand on the chin and push 
away with all force possible. 

F. Easy Method of Assisting Tired Swimmer 
An easy method of assisting a tired swimmer or one attacked 

by cramp, as well as others who 
may be quiet. The person being 
assisted must place both hands on 
the shoulders of the rescuer with 
the arms at full stretch, and lie 
upon the back. The rescuer being 
uppermost, and having arms and legs free, swims with the breast 
stroke. 

Enter of— Royal Life Saving Society. 

Restoring the Apparently Drowned 
Rule 1 . Unless in extreme cold weather, when there may 
be danger of freezing, do not move the patient, but instantly 
expose the face to a current of cold air, wipe dry the mouth 
and nostrils, rip the clothing so as to expose the chest and 
waist, and give two or three 
quick smarting slaps on the 
stomach and chest with the 
open hand. If the patient does 
not revive, proceed at once as 
follows: 

Rule 2. To Draw Off the 
Water from the Stomach and 
Lungs. —Turn the patient on 
his face, place a large roll of clothing beneath the stomach and 
press heavily on the back and spine over it for half a minute, 
or so long as fluids flow freely from the mouth (Fig. G.) 















882 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Rule 3. To Produce Respiration . — If no assistance is 
at hand and you must work alone, place the patient on his 

back with the shoulders slightly 
raised on a folded article of 
clothing. Draw forward the 
tongue and keep it projecting 
beyond the lips. If the lower 
jaw be raised, the teeth may 
be made to hold the tongue in 
place; it may be necessary to 
retain the tongue by tying a 
handkerchief under the chin 
and over the head. Grasp the 
arms just below the elbows,and 
draw them steadily upwards 
until they nearly meet above 
the head. (This enlarges the 
capacity of the chest and induces inspiration.) (Fig. H.) Next, 
lower the arms to the side, and press firmly downward and in¬ 
ward and backward on the sides and front of the chest, over 
lower ribs and sternum. (This produces expiration.) (Fig. I.) 

Repeat these measures deliberately and perseveringly twelve 
to fifteen times in every minute. Occasionally rub the limbs 
upward from the extremities toward the heart, and dash cold 





water in the face. 

Rule 4. If an assistant is at hand, and two can work together, 
have one kneel at the patients head and one astride the hips of 
the patient facing the patient’s 
face. (Fig. J.) Proceed as 
given above, save that when 
the operator at the head low¬ 
ers the arms to the sides, the 
second operator presses on 
the sides and front of the 
chest backwards and down¬ 
wards, throwing all his weight 
into it. (Fig. K.) The method 
followed by two workers is 
the same as that by one, save 
that the second operator ap¬ 
plies the pressure on the 
chest, and in the time when the arms are being raised applies 
friction and warmth to the body. 

Rule 5. Send for medical aid, stimulants and warm blankets 
and clothes as soon as possible. 

Rule 6. Keep up the efforts for fully two hours, or until the 
patient breathes. 








SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


883 


Rule 7 . Practice drying and rubbing from the beginning in 
so far as possible without interfering with the movements of 
artificial respiration. 

Rule 8. After-Treatment .—As soon as the breathing is 
established, let the patient be stripped of all wet clothing, 
wrapped in blankets only, put to bed comfortably warm, but 
with a free circulation of fresh air, and left to perfect rest. 
Internally give a little brandy or hot water or other stimulant at 
hand every ten or fifteen minutes for the first hour, and as often 
after as necessary. 

Ill 

U. S. Coast Guard Lifesaving Stations 

Lifesaving stations are located at frequent intervals along the 
coast. Foreign lifesaving stations and rescue huts are marked 
on charts and are designated in the sailing directions. 

The recognized answer to the distress signals (see page 596 ) 
is a pyrotechnic signal, a rocket, or a flare of some kind. Or a 
gun in the daytime. The shore station will attempt to put a 
line over your rigging if you are fast ashore and the sea is too 
high to get a boat out to you. 

Instructions for the Use of the Gun and Rocket Apparatus for 
Saving Life from Shipwreck as Practiced by the 
United States Coast Guard 

If your vessel is stranded and a shot with a small line is fired 
over it, get hold of the line and haul on board until you get a tail- 
block with an endless line rove through it; make the tailblock 
fast to the lower mast, well up, or in the event the masts are 
gone, to the best place to be found; cast off small shot line, see 
that rope in block runs free, and make a signal to shore. (Figure 
A.) This is the whip. 




A hawser will be bent to the endless line on shore and hauled 
off to your ship by the life-saving crew. Make hawser fast about 


884 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


two feet above the tailblock and unbend hawser from endless line. 
See that rope in block runs free and show signal to shore. 
(Figure B.) 

Life-savers on shore will then set hawser taut and by means 
of the whip will haul off to your ship a breeches buoy. (Figure C.) 

Let one man get clear into breeches buoy, thrusting his legs 
through the breeches; make signal to shore as before, and he 
will be hauled ashore by the life-savers and the empty buoy 
returned to the ship. 

There should be on board every vessel a copy of detailed 
Instructions to Mariners in Case of Shipwreck, including wreck 
signals, etc., issued by the United States Coast Guard. A copy 
of the instructions may be secured by masters of vessels upon 
request addressed to the Captain Commandant, United States 
Coast Guard, Washington, D. C. 

The business of handling the line shot over a vessel is largely a 
matter of intelligence. In hauling out the tail block a small tag 
will be found on the block containing the above instructions in 
several languages. 

Getting a Line Ashore 

This can be done in a number of ways. If on a lee shore a 
line can be floated in, or the line may be shot across to the 
beach by the line-throwing gun. An ordinary rocket may also 
be used and will carry a cod line about two hundred feet against 
the wind, and of course somewhat further with the wind. 

The newer types of line-throwing guns have a longer range 
and should easily put a line against a stiff breeze for a distance 
of fifteen hundred feet. 

When a line has been put across between the ship and the 
shore certain recognized signals are employed. 

A red flag waved on shore by day or a red light by night indi¬ 
cates “ Haul Away” A white flag by day or a white light by 
night indicates “ Slack Away” Two flags, a red and a white, 
waved at the same time on shore by day, or a white and red 
lantern slowly swung at night at the same time will signify 
“ Do not attempt to land in your own boats. It is impossible” 
A man on shore beckoning by day or two torches burning near 
together by night will signify “ This is the best place to land.” 


SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


885 


Answering signals from the ship may be made by waving a flag, 
handkerchief, hat or the hand and arm. At night by using a 
lantern or rocket or if working with the whip by jerking on either 
the hawser or the whip. 



The Steward Line-Throwing Gun. 

Caution: Keep cool. Don’t get excited and try to calm your 
passengers and crew as much as possible. You may have to 
wait several hours after you are discovered, but help will surely 
come. 

Summary of Instructions 

When the Coast Guard crew arrive at a point opposite your 
vessel they will immediately proceed to shoot a line over her. 
Get hold of this line as soon as you can and if possible reeve the 
end of it, cutting away the projectile, through a block well up 
your rigging on the mast nearest shore is best. If this cannot 
be done reeve it through the ratlines or over something so that 
several persons can help haul on it. By this shot line, as it is 
called, you will haul on board a tail block through which is rove a 
whip. Attached to this tail block will be a tally board giving 
directions in French and English as to how to proceed. 

Make the tail block fast as high up on your mast, or if the mast 
is gone then up as high as you can on your vessel and signal to 




886 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


shore that they should haul away. When you determine which 
is the hauling part give all the assistance possible and get the 
three inch hawser, which you will find attached to the whip line, 
on board. Make this line fast to the mast about two feet above 
the tail block and signal to shore that they should haul away. 
They will tighten up on the hawser and as soon as it is taut will 
send out to the ship a breeches buoy suspended from the hawser 
by a specially constructed block and hauled back and forth by 
the whip line. Place your passengers in the buoy making them 
stick their legs through the breeches. Children should be sent 
ashore in care of an adult placing the child in such a position 
that it will free its protector and thereby be in a better position 
to hold on. The same procedure should be followed with crip¬ 
ples. Women should be sent ashore in pairs facing each other. 
Send a young strong man with an old woman or man. Unless 
too heavy, men can be sent ashore easiest by having each place a 
leg in the breeches and straddling the buoy. If the weather is 
very cold, wrap children, old people and cripples in blankets. 
Women can stand more cold than men. 

IV 

Cleanliness 

The smart appearance of a vessel is the best indication of the 
quality of her crew. Insist upon a regular routine of cleaning 
every day in the week, no matter what the weather. Crew’s 
quarters should be inspected daily by the Chief Mate; water 
closets, galleys, store rooms, all should be ready for inspection 
at some appointed hour. It is a good plan for the Master to 
make a weekly inspection of the entire vessel from stem to 
stern with all store rooms opened and the men responsible 
standing by, dressed clean and neat. 

The condition of some forecastles is a reflection on everyone 
on board. If owners came on board frequently and just took a 
quiet walk around many mates would get very busy. 

The preparation of food should only be permitted under 
sanitary conditions. Kids, dishes, and all mess rooms, lockers, 
etc., should be carefully inspected and kept scrupulously clean. 
It takes some effort to start such a system where the contrary 




SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


887 


prevails, but when once under way the men themselves insist 
upon the standard established. 

A wise marine superintendent will look into the forecastle, 
the moment a vessel returns to port. 

Vessels that are not clean carry with them an odor of neglect 
that is reflected in the slovenly and careless way in which every¬ 
thing is done. Dirt shows poor seamanship, and costs someone 
a lot of money, generally the owner and the underwriter, in the 
end. 

Living Quarters 

Greater care is being taken in the design of living accommo¬ 
dation for the crew. The vessel should be looked upon as a 
home, and with a small amount of care improvements in light, 
ventilation, and arrangement can easily be made. Many naval 
architects are doing valuable work in studying this question of 
housing the crew. 

Bath rooms should all be showers, placed in a light and roomy 
situation where they can be kept clean and can be scrubbed out 
each day. A shower under the break of the poop or the fore¬ 
castle with large openings for sunlight and air would be ideal. 
Usually these things are placed in some out-of-the-way corner 
and smell to the skies, never seeing sunlight or air. The deck 
crew should wash out on deck in mild weather under the deck 
hose. They generally do this. 

Mess rooms should be provided for the various divisions in a 
vessel. The principal officers should mess in the cabin with the 
Master. The junior officers should have their own mess room. 
It is a good plan to have the watch officers and the assistant 
engineers mess together with the chief steward and the wireless 
operators. Keep mess rooms a decent distance from W. C.’s. 

Quartermasters, oilers, watertenders, etc., should have a 
separate mess. The boatswain and deck engineer and car¬ 
penter should be in this mess. 

Seamen and firemen and coal passers should have their 
separate messes. 

This duplication of messes is not so difficult. It calls for ar¬ 
rangement in design and helps in the better working of the vessel. 
All messes should have a recognized head who should be held 
responsible for the condition and behavior of the mess. 


888 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Master should actively concern himself with the quality, 
cleanliness and quantity of the food in the ship and should visit 
the various messes whenever he feels like seeing how well his 
command is getting on, this should be quite often. 

Clean living quarters and wholesome, well-cooked food go a 
long way toward working efficiency. Mess rooms should be well 
ventilated. 

Drinking Water 

The supply of drinking water should be carefully guarded. 
Drinking water tanks should be so connected that nothing can be 
put into them without some safeguard. The writer recalls a case 
where water from the Schuylkill River was run into a drinking 
tank. The Master died of typhoid and the Chief Engineer nearly 
lost his life through the same sickness, caused by this water, 
served on the cabin table before the mistake was discovered. 

In taking drinking water aboard be certain that it is pure and 
fit for use. 

Where scuttle butts are used clean them thoroughly every 
Saturday morning. 

Where water cannot be evaporated on board, and the shore 
supply is suspicious, filter this and boil. Bedford in The Sailor 1 s 
Pocket Book , gives these instructions :* 

“ In all localities where the quality of the water is suspicious, 
condensed water should, if possible, be used for drinking and 
cooking purposes. When this is not feasible, the water should 
be carefully filtered and boiled. 

“ Two barrels, one inside the other, having a space of four to 
six inches clear all round between them, filled with layers of 
sand, gravel, and charcoal, form an excellent filter. The inside 
one, without a bottom, rests on three stones placed in layers of 
sand, charcoal, and coarse gravel; the water, flowing or being 
poured into the space between the two barrels, and having thus 
to force its way through the substances into the inner barrel, 
becomes purified. 

“ The water should be drawn off by means of a pipe, running 
through the outer into the inner barrel. Animal charcoal is the 
best. When, after a time, it ceases to act, it should be removed 
and well dried. It can then be used again with advantage. It is 
impossible to use too much of it.” 

Bedding 

All mattresses, blankets, etc., should be got up at least once 

*An old, but very useful book. 


SAFETY ON BOARD SHIP 


889 


a week and kept on deck in the sun all day. Make this day a 
field day for the crew and tell off a few men to thoroughly clean 
out the living quarters. Inspect the bedding and condemn it or 
have it scrubbed if not sanitary. All mattresses should have 
covers which can be washed. Thorough fumigation of all living 
quarters is advised at least once a year or more often if neces¬ 
sary. Before battening down be sure all hands are out of spaces 
to be purified. 

The Master in most cargo vessels is charged with the duty of 
doctoring the crew. Some Masters dislike this and have the 
steward, or some smart youngster, prescribe the usual doses of 
black draft, etc. However, many of the old-school shipmasters, 
old sailing ship men, looked upon this as one of their real respons¬ 
ibilities. In fact it is a grave responsibility and should be so con¬ 
sidered. Masters should have the benefit of simple instruction 
ashore in first aid and in prescribing the medicines carried in 
the ship’s chest. This is so essential, that with all of our “ re¬ 
forms ” no one seems to have considered it as being necessary.* 

One of the best handbooks is the “ Medical Handbook of 
the U. S. Lighthouse Service.” This may be had from the 
Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 
Washington, D. C. The price is fifty cents. 

V 

Mo rale 

The vessel takes her tone from the Master, who, in turn, 
gets his inspiration from the owners. It pays very handsomely 
to have a clean, well-organized and contented vessel. There is 
less loss from damage to ship and cargo. Less of the ship’s 
stores are wasted. Crew changes are cut down and the acci¬ 
dent risk from new men is lessened. Cargo is better looked 
after, holds are policed better, and a feeling of good will prevails 
that is missing in the “ grouchy ” vessel where everyone goes 
about with a chip on his shoulder. 

This is of course very desirable, and the question is, “ How 
can it be done? ” 

In the first place the Master and his officers both on deck and 
below, must work together. In ships where the “ Old Man ” 

*Medical advice is now often available by radio. 


890 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


and the “ Chief ” work together for the best interests of the 
owners, and are supported by competent and level-headed 
executives in the persons of the Chief Mate and the First Assis¬ 
tant, a “ home ship ” can easily be organized. 

Organizing ability is simply applied common sense. Without it 
a crew may be on the verge of mutiny in a few days. The mates 
stand upon their rights , the men invoke all of their rights, and 
the result is a mess of discomfort, ill will, and loss to all. 

As a general rule men never do any thinking for themselves. 
The mate who gets up awnings, lays out work in a rational way, 
demands that it be done properly, and who is just as insistent 
for the comfort of his men as he is for the work they are to do, 
soon makes a home ship. When a man finds he is under skilled 
direction, and actually has more time to himself while doing first- 
class work for his employers, and finds himself in clean and 
orderly surroundings, he bucks up and takes new interest. 

On so many vessels the men, after their little trick of duty, 
are thrown into a dirty forecastle, fed atrocious food, and allowed 
to exist at the standard set by the dirtiest members of the 
crew. When these conditions are reversed, the scudgy members 
are soon eliminated and a clean self-respecting crowd comes in. 

Expensive near-cabin food, poorly prepared and served, seems 
to be the rule on many ships. Waste of any kind always brings 
with it a sense of neglect higher up. 

Seamen prefer clean well cooked wholesome food properly 
served on a clean mess table. 

The writer lived for a year in a clean well-kept forecastle and 
knows what he is talking about. A seaman, in the old days, 
and let us hope in the new, carried a few books to sea with him, 
had a few belongings, and his bag or chest was the essence of 
neatness. Now that pay is better, crooks ashore are less 
dangerous, and advancement is more easily attained, young men 
should find the forecastle a fit place to enter in the first steps 
toward command, and they should bring something with them 
from this association that will make them more tolerant and 
better men as they advance to higher stations. 


CHAPTER 22 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 
I 

Painting 

Nowhere in the world is there such constant wearing away 
and rusting out as on board ship. A house may get along for 
years without paint or attention, but a ship will fall apart from 
neglect if she is not attended to almost every day. Steel is 
especially subject to rust under sea conditions and the nature 
of the structure, the wide temperature ranges and stresses under 
which it operates, tends to help corrosion and decay. 

A newly built ship is allowed to rust in order that the mill 
scale can be brushed off. This scale itself will not rust, but 
if allowed to remain it sets up a galvanic couple with the steel 
and gradually pits the surface. 

Rust, forming under the mill scale, loosens it and it is then 
removed by wire brushes, or by some mechanical method, either 
a sand blast or a mechanical scraper or brush. 

Rust itself is not generally understood by seamen and the 
following is of interest. It is from a pamphlet by the Bitucoat 
Company. 

“ When iron or steel is exposed to the action of air, moisture, 
and a limited degree of warmth—RUST—a hydrated oxide of 
iron of no exact chemical formula—is formed, and this com¬ 
pound has the peculiar faculty of giving up part of its oxygen to 
the neighboring molecules of iron, thus oxidizing or rusting 
them, and this new rust then re-absorbs fresh oxygen from the 
air and again distributes it; so, once formed, its action is con¬ 
tinuous, ever increasing, ever growing. 

“ Oxygen is necessary to the formation of rust. Therefore 
the longer you exclude this element, the longer do you ward off 
corrosion. ,, 

On board ship the time-honored method of cleaning away 
rust was the chipping hammer . The scraper was also employed 

891 


892 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


and, after chipping for a day or so, the wire brush was brought 
into play. 

With the increase in size of vessels and the comparative in¬ 
crease in the cost of labor, mechanical scraping and cleaning 
tools seem in a fair way of coming into general use. These may 
be either pneumatic or electrical. Current is always available, 
and an air compressor is almost a necessity; in the Diesel ships 
it is part of the main propelling plant. 

Scaling and chipping by hand seem to be doomed, and no one 
will regret their passing away. Chipping all day over the side 
on a scaffold plank in the burning sun, knowing that you were 
getting nowhere and never would, was soul destroying labor. 

The Rotary Scraper has shown that one man can do as much 
work as ten to fifteen men working by hand, furthermore he 
knows he is getting a dirty job done quickly. 

In the Porterite apparatus a sand blast is used in cleaning off 
old paint and rust. This operates by air pressure. 

Air pressure is also used by this system to apply the paint or 
other coating. In fact paint spraying is in general use where 
large surfaces must be covered. 

The largest surfaces in a ship are the stretches of the outside 
shell plating. Here the hull is conveniently divided as follows. 
The bottom, or underbody , from keel to light load line—the 
boot-top between light and a foot or so above deep load line— 
the topside above this and to the rail. 

Paint guns are used to apply paint under air pressure, and 
care has to be taken to use them according to instructions. The 
following instructions for the use of a paint gun apply to the 
Spraco pneumatic painting equipment. 

To Use Paint Gun 

First: Fill material container with coating material, being 
careful to strain out all paint skins or foreign matter. The 
material may be poured into the container through the filler 
plug in the top of the container, after bleeder valve on control 
head has been screwed all the way in. Refill in same way. 

Second: Screw filler plug back in place and make hose con¬ 
nections from air and paint outlets on control head to air and 
paint inlets on the gun. Two kinds of hose are furnished, and 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


893 


it is important that the rubber hose be used on the air line , and 
the special material hose on the paint line. 

Third: Blow out your air supply line to remove all moisture 
and dirt, then connect same to the control had at point marked 
“ Line.” 

Fourth: Screw bleeder valve out to the limit and open paint 
shutoff cock in paint line. 

Fifth: Turn on air supply and adjust reducing valves so as to 
obtain the proper pressures on both air and material, as speci¬ 
fied in the following table. 

The air pressure is indicated on the gauge marked “ Air,” 
and is adjusted by means of the reducing valve to right of the 
gauge. The paint pressure is indicated on the gauge marked 
“ Paint,” and is adjusted by means of reducing valve to right of 
gauge. 

Approximate Operating Pressures 


Kind of Material 

Approx. Air Pres¬ 
sure 

Approx. Paint 
Pressure 

Lacquers, Shellacs, Light Varnishes, Fillers, 

and Light Primers. 

Light Mill Whites, Steel Primers, etc. 

18 lbs. Red Lead, Structural Paints, and 
Light Copper Oxide and Graphite Paints. . 
25 lbs. Red Lead, Heavy Copper Oxides, 
Anti-corrosives, and similar paints. 

15 to 30 lbs. 
30 to 45 lbs. 

40 to 55 lbs. 

60 to 80 lbs. 

100 to 125 lbs. 

55 to 70 lbs. 
50 to 80 lbs. 
15 to 45 lbs. 

5 to 15 lbs. 

15 to 30 lbs. 

30 to 45 lbs. 

50 to 60 lbs. 

75 to 90 lbs. 

40 to 60 lbs. 

20 to 60 lbs. 

5 to 35 lbs. 

30 lbs. Red Lead, Norfolk Special Anti¬ 
fouling Paint, etc. 

Freight Car Paints, Heavy Mill Whites, etc., 
for rapid work. 

Asphaltum and similar paints. 

Varnishes (varying according to make up).. 


When starting up the equipment, the operator should be 
guided by the above schedule of operating pressures. It is to 
be noted that these pressures are only approximate, and the 
pressure should be varied up or down until the desired fineness 
of spray and speed of application are secured. If more than one 
length of hose is used, or the gun is operated at a considerable 
height above the material container, higher gauge pressures will 
be required. 

In general, the higher the air pressure, the finer the spray 
produced, and the higher the material pressure, the greater speed 
of application. It is not advisable, however, to use higher 
pressures than are necessary to produce satisfactory results. 



















894 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Sixth: Pull back the gun trigger as far as possible and, holding 
it in this position, adjust needle valve PG-15 and cap PG-11 
until the desired character of spray is produced. The flow of 
air is regulated by screwing the needle valve in or ouf, and the 
flow of material by screwing the cap PG-11 on or off .. When the 
needle valve has been set at the desired position, it should be 
clamped by means of lock-nut G-16, and the equipment is ready 
for operation. 

To “ Blow Back 99 Gun 

When using the gun continuously it may be necessary peri¬ 
odically to “ blow back ” the gun to dislodge any solids in the 
paint, which may have collected in the body of the gun or material 
hose, also to agitate the paint in the container. This may be 
done in the following manner: 

First: Turn spreader attachment on gun to position marked 
“ Off.” 

Second: Screw in bleeder valve to the limit, which will relieve 
pressure on material container. 

Third: Block opening in cap with finger and pull the trigger. 
The air will drive any material in the gun or paint hose back 
into the container, and the air bubbling up through the material 
will agitate same. 

Fourth: Screw bleeder valve out to the limit and proceed with 
the work. 

Continuous Agitation 

If it is necessary that the material be continuously agitated so 
as to keep the heavier parts in suspension, the agitating attach¬ 
ment, shown in the accompanying illustration, should be used. 
This attachment is screwed into the main air port in the bottom 
of the control head. To agitate the material it is necessary only 
to screw bleeder valve part way in. This will allow air, which 
has passed through the agitator attachment and bubbled up 
through the paint, to blow out through the opening around the 
bleeder valve stem. The farther in the bleeder valve is screwed, 
the greater will be the agitation. The bleeder valve should not 
be screwed in too far, however, as this will hold the check ball 
on its seat, and thus prevent any air passing through the agitator 
pipe. The proper place to set the bleeder valve to agitate 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


895 


sufficiently any particular kind of paint can be easily determined 
by a little experimentation. It is advisable, however, not to 
agitate the paint any more than necessary. 

Shutting Down and Cleaning 

When shutting down the equipment for a short period, such 
as overnight, proceed as follows: 

First: “ Blow back ” gun as described above and close paint 
shutoff cock in paint line. 

Second: Shut off main air supply. 

Third: Dip nose of gun is can of paint solvent suitable for 
use with the particular material handled. 

If the equipment is to be shut down for a long period, proceed 
as follows: 

First: “ Blow back ” gun as heretofore described and leave 
bleeder valve screwed in to the limit. 

Second: Remove cover of material container. Empty out all 
paint and clean interior of container. 

Third: Put a small amount of paint solvent into the container 
and replace cover. 

Fourth: Screw bleeder valve out to the limit. 

Fifth: Screw needle valve on gun in to the limit, and unscrew 
cap part way. 

Sixth: Pull the trigger and discharge the solvent a sufficient 
length of time entirely to clear control head, hose, and gun of 
paint. 

Seventh: Screw out needle valve and screw m bleeder valve 
to the limit and “ blow back ” gun. 

Eighth: Turn off main air supply and empty out any paint 
solvent remaining in the material container. 

The equipment may now be left for any length of time and 
will be ready for use again without further cleaning. 

Paints in General 

Much of the following information is adapted from The 
Sailor's Manual of Paints and Painting and General Instructions 
for Painting and Cementing Vessels, issued by the U. S. Navy. 

Definitions 

Paint is a mixture of pigment with vehicle, intended to be 
spread in thin coats for decoration or protection, or both, 

32 



896 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


According to this definition, a mixture of pigment and varnish 
is a paint and on the other hand, a solution of stains in oil or 
varnish, no pigment being present, is not a paint. 

* Pigment The fine solid particles used in the preparation of 
paint and substantially insoluble in the vehicle. 

Asphaltic materials are not pigments except when they contain 
substances substantially insoluble in the vehicle in which they 
are used. 

The pigments used in paint manufacture may be divided into 

(a) white bases, (b) extenders, (c) natural earth colors, (d) chemi¬ 
cal colors, (e) pigment lakes, etc. 

* Vehicle . The liquid portion of a paint. 

Here anything that is dissolved in the liquid portion of a paint 
is a part of the vehicle. 

The vehicles used in paints may be divided into (a) linseed oil, 

(b) poppy-seed oil, (c) perilla oil, (d) China-wood oil, (e) sun¬ 
flower oil, (f) menhaden fish oil, ( g) cottonseed oil, ( h ) corn oil, 
(i) soya-bean oil, turpentine, mineral substitute turpentines, 
varnishes, and driers. 

Pigments 

Principal White Pigments 

The most important white pigments are white lead, zinc oxide, 
basic sulphate of lead, lithopone, and certain inert pigments, 
such as barytes, asbestine, silica, etc. 

White Lead 

White lead (basic carbonate) is a compound of metallic lead 
with carbonic acid gas, oxygen, and water. It is manufactured 
by a number of processes, the two most important of which are 
the well-known “ old Dutch process ” and the more modern 
“ cylinder ” or “ quick process.” White lead made by either 
process is acceptable to the Navy Department under the standard 
specifications for white lead. 

In the “ old Dutch process ” metallic lead is melted and cast 
into perforated disks, called buckles. These buckles, which are 
about 6 inches in diameter, are placed into pots containing about 
one pint of dilute acetic acid (vinegar). The pots are placed in 
rooms, in tiers or layers, 600 to 1,000 pots to each tier. They 
are covered with boards and layers of tan bark are placed between 
tiers. The rooms, kown as “ stacks,” are kept closed for three 
or four months, during which period the heat and carbonic acid 
gas generated by formentation of the tan bark, together with the 
acid vapors, combine to crrode the lead more or less completely 
into a white flaky substances (basic lead carbonate). 

Note. Definitions marked with the asterisk (*) are quoted from “ Stan¬ 
dard definitions of terms relating to paint specifications,” American Society 
for Testing Materials —1916., q t 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


897 


This white substance after it is crushed, screened, floated, 
ground in water, and dried forms the white lead of commerce, 
and is either sold in the dry state to paint and color manu¬ 
facturers or ground in linseed oil and sold in this form for general 
painting purposes. In the “ Cylinder ” or “Quick process ” 
method lead is blown into fine granules by means of a jet of 
superheated steam. This powdered lead is charged into large 
slowly revolving wooden cylinders or drums, moistened with 
dilute acetic acid, and subjected for several days to the action of 
air and carbonic acid derived from burning coke. The subse¬ 
quent procedure resembles closely the methods of the old Dutch 
process. 

While a useful and valuable pigment on account of its opacity 
and working qualities, it is subject to somewhat rapid disinte¬ 
gration. 

The durability of good white lead may be about three years, 
but in the meanwhile the paint will disintegrate on the surface 
and begin to wear off in the form of a fine powder (“ chalking ”) 
or to come off in flakes (“ scaling ”). 

White-lead paint seldom retains its original color; it is gen¬ 
erally darkened by the action of sulphur contained in the at¬ 
mosphere. 

Sublimed White Lead or Basic Sulphate White Lead. 

This product is so named because it is obtained from Galena, 
a lead sulphide ore, by a sublimation process. The ore as it is 
mined is roasted. The fumes arising from the roasted ore unite 
with the oxygen in the air and form a white powder, which does 
not require grinding. Sublimed white lead differs from (basic 
carbonate) white lead in that it is a basic sulphate of lead. 

It exceeds in the fineness of the particles the ordinary grades 
of (basic carbonate) white lead, and is considered equal to them 
in whiteness, body, covering power, and wearing qualities. It 
differs from basic carbonate white lead in that it is practically 
non-poisonous and resists to a much greater degree the blacken¬ 
ing action of the sulphur compounds of sewer gas and of fuel gas. 

Zinc Oxide. 

Zinc oxide, as its name implies, is a compound of zinc and 
oxygen. 

Zinc oxide is the finest and nearest white of all so-called white 
pigments. French process zinc oxide is more nearly pure white 
than the American process pigments. It costs more, however, 
and should be used only in white enamels. It is unaffected in 
color by any gases present in the atmosphere, has no effect upon 
any pigment with which it may be mixed, and is non-poisonous. 
Owing to its extreme hardness, it is less resistant to temperature 
changes than is white lead. It is used to advantage in white 


898 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


enamels and in combination with white lead and various other 

pigments. , . .. 

In consequence of the extreme fineness of the zinc oxide pig¬ 
ment, it requires more oil in mixing than any other white pigment. 
In 100 pounds of zinc oxide paint, ready for use, there are about 
46 pounds of oil and 54 pounds of pigment, while the proportions 
in corroded white lead of similar consistency are about 36 pounds 
of oil to 76 pounds of pigments. 

Lithopone. . . . .... . 

Lithopone is essentially a combination of zinc sulphide ana 
barium sulphate (blanc fixe or “ permanent white ”). It is very 
fine, white, and amorphous, and, if properly made, has excellent 
body and valuable properties as a pigment. Most varieties of 
lithopone should not be used with white lead pigments or with 
oils containing a lead drier, because of the tendency of the mix¬ 
ture to darken. Lithopone has the peculiar property of darken¬ 
ing in sunlight and recovering its color in the dark. As a paint 
pigment lithopone is best suited for interior use in wall finishes 
and enamels. 

Extenders. ... 

An extender is a white or colorless substance added to white 
or colored paints. It is sometimes used to form the solid base 
in which staining colors or dyes are precipitated to decrease the 
preponderance of chemically active pigments in the paint film. 

Barytes or silica is sometimes added to basic carbonate white 
lead to limit the excessive spreading power of a paint and thus 
to increase the thickness of the paint film. 

Some of the extenders in common use are: 

Barium sulphate (barytes, blanc fixe, permanent white). 

Silica (silex, silicious earth). 

Magnesium silicate (asbestus, asbestine, pulp talc). 

Aluminum silicate (china clay, kaolin). 

Calcium sulphate (gypsum, terra alba). 

Calcium carbonate (white mineral primer, Paris white, 
whiting, etc.). . 

These extenders are inert in the sense that they are chemically 
stable; that is, they neither act upon nor are acted upon by any 
other constituent in the paints. They therefore do not affect 
color nor destroy the life of the vehicle. 

Principal Color Pigments. 

Color pigments are used in conjunction with white base pig¬ 
ments, to produce any desired shade of color. They are also 
used alone with the necessary vehicles. They may be divided 
into the following classes, based on the methods of manufacture, 
viz : ... 

Natural earth colors. These are found as deposits in the 
earth and utilized as pigments either in their natural state, after 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


899 


grinding and purification, or after further treatment, such as 
oxidation by burning, calcination, etc. Some of the colors are: 
Indian red, ochre, metallic brown, siennas, umbers, mineral 
blacks. 

Chemical colors. Chemical colors are pigments produced by 
chemical action of one substance, usually in solution, upon an- 
other substance, resulting in the formation of a colored com¬ 
pound. Some of the chemical colors are: Prussian and Chinese 
blue, lead chromate, chrome green, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, 
vermilion, red lead, orange mineral, and litharge. 

Carbon blacks. The carbon blacks are practically pure carbon. 
They comprise (a) lampblack, which is a specially prepared 
soot from oil lamps; (b) gas blacks, from natural gas; (c) 
graphite, which was originally a natural product, but which now 
may also be produced by means of the electric furnace; (d) bone 
black, ivory black, drip black, vine black, etc., made by car¬ 
bonizing animal and vegetable substances. 

With the exception of those named under (</), the above 
blacks are practically pure carbons. They are therefore chemi¬ 
cally inert, but are not classed among the “ inert or reinforcing 
pigments ” because they are not used to obtain the results for 
which inert pigments are used. 

The carbon blacks have enormous covering capacity in pro¬ 
portion to their weight. Their durability and tinting power is 
good. They are seldom used alone as a pure color; it is better 
to grind with them such a proportion of colorless inert pigment as 
will measurably increase the thickness of the plant film without 
impairing its quality. 

Vehicles 

A vehicle is a liquid carrier which is mixed with a pigment to 
permit the application of the pigment by brush or other suitable 
means, and which acts as a binder for the pigment. 

Vehicles may be subdivided as follows: 

Oils: 


Drying oils— 

Volatile oils or thinners: 

Linseed oil. 

Turpentine (pure gum 

Poppy-seed oil. 

spirits). 

China-wood oil. 

Wood turpentine 

Sunflower-seed oil. 

Mineral spirits (tur¬ 

Menhaden or fish oil. 

pentine substitute). 

Semidrying and nondrying 

Benzol. 

oils— 

Toluol. 

Cottonseed oil. 

Coal-tar naphtha. 

Corn oil. 

Soya-bean oil. 

Alcohol. 


900 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Driers: 

Oil driers: Compounds such as lead oxide, manganese 
oxides, lead-manganese oxides, cobalt acetate, dissolved 
in linseed oil. 

Liquid driers: Oil driers which also contain turpentine, 
benzine, or both. 

Japan driers: Liquid driers which also contain gums or 
gum resins. 

Oils. 

Oils are divided into “ drying,” “ semidrying,” and “ non¬ 
drying ” oils. Drying oils have the property of absorbing oxygen 
and forming a tough elastic film. Semidrying oils possess this 
property in a less degree, and for this reason are not used as 
extensively as the drying oils. Oils are used in paint to 
give it the necessary fluidity, to insure the uniform distribution 
of pigment on the painted surface, to form a firmly adherent 
and coherent film, and to impart to the paint the desire lduster. 

Linseed oil. Linseed oil is generally used to form the non¬ 
volatile part of the vehicle. It is extracted from the seed of the 
flax plant. The seed is first ground, then subjected to steam 
heat, and the oil extracted by means of a hydraulic press. The 
oil after this treatment contains various foreign substances 
called “ foots.” These “ foots ” are removed by settling or fil¬ 
tration. As storage has the effect of settling the “ foots,” lin¬ 
seed oil should not be unnecessarily shaken up just prior to its 
introduction into the paint. 

China wood oil. China wood oil, or tung oil, as it is some¬ 
times called, is the oil obtained by heating and crushing the 
nuts of tung trees, which grow in China and Japan. This oil, 
when properly treated, will dry to a clear waterproof elastic 
film. 

Menhaden or fish oil. This oil is obtained by steaming and 
pressing menhaden or “ piogey ” fish, which are caught in large 
quantities off the Atlantic coast. There are several grades, the 
most satisfactory of which is the grade known as “ light winter 
pressed.” This oil is of pale straw color and dries quickly. 

Cottonseed oil. This oil is pressed from the seed of the 
cotton plant. It is little used in paint manufacture. 

Corn oil. This oil is a by-product in the manufacture of 
starch and alcoholic liquids. It dries slower than cottonseed oil 
and is used principally in color grinding. 

Soya-bean oil. This oil is obtained by crushing, steaming, and 
pressing the seed of soya-bean plant. When mixed in proper 
proportions with linseed oil it gives fairly good service in some 
paints. It is a semidrying oil, but can be made to dry quickly 
by mixing it with lead manganese driers. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


901 


Volatile Oils or Thinners. 

Of all the volatile oils or thinners mentioned in the classifica¬ 
tion given above, the two turpentines evaporate the most 
slowly. The turpentines differ from the other thinners listed, 
in that they are oxidizers; that is, they assist the oils used in 
the paint to absorb oxygen from the air and become dry. The 
other thinners are not oxidizers. All the thinners, however, are 
used only for their mechanical effect on the oil. They thin or 
“ cut ” the oil to facilitate the spreading, to reduce excessive 
proportions of oil, and to hasten the “ setting ” of the paint. 
They also assist the penetration of the priming coat on wood, 
reduce the gloss of undercoatings, thereby improving the ad¬ 
hesion of subsequent coats, and destroy gloss entirely in the case 
of flat finishes. 

Thinners, however, should not he used in excess , as they will 
then seriously impair the durability of the paint by reducing the 
proportion of oil. As the oil in the paint is the “ binder ” or 
life of the paint, the thinning of the binder results in lessened 
durability. 

This result is very apparent in what is known as “ flat ” paint, 
where the proportion of oil is reduced by the addition of thinners 
to such an extent that the paint dries without gloss. 

Gum spirits of turpentine. Gum spirits of turpentine is ob¬ 
tained from pine trees by cutting pockets in the bark of the 
trees and collecting the sap drippings. When this sap is dis¬ 
tilled, either by direct fire or steam, it yields turpentine. 

Wood turpentine . Wood turpentine is produced by destruc¬ 
tively distilling or steam distilling pine wood. High grade 
refined wood turpentine has a sweet smell, is transparent, and 
equal to gum spirits as a solvent. It is accepted for use on a 
par with pure gum spirits of turpentine. 

Mineral spirits (turpentine substitute). Turpentine substi¬ 
tute is a light volatile product collected in the distillation of 
crude oil. Where this product has the proper evaporating value, 
high flash point, and freedom from sulphur, it is very suitable 
as a paint thinner. It differs from the two turpentines in that 
it completely evaporates as the paint dries, and therefore serves 
only to dilute the oil. Turpentine, on the other hand, acts on 
the oil somewhat as a drier; it also leaves on the surface of the 
paint a small percentage of glossy material, which, in a slight 
degree, acts as a u binder ” for the pigments. 

Turpentine substitute is sometimes used as a thinner in var¬ 
nishes. Varnishes thinned with turpentine can not be further 
reduced with substitute, because of the tendency of an excess 
substitute to separate the gums in the varnish from the oil; it is 
therefore imperative that Navy varnishes should never be thinned 
with turpentine substitute. 


902 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


If varnishes on board ship become too thick for proper appli¬ 
cation they should be thinned with turpentine. 

Benzol. Benzol is a product obtained from the distillation of 
coal tar. A small portion of benzol is a valuable constituent of 
paint. 

Toluol. Toluol or toluene is a light oil distillate from coal 
tar. It has a higher boiling point than benzol. It is produced 
in commercial grades suitable for paint trade. It is not used by 
the Navy Department. 

Coal tar naphtha. Coal tar naphtha is not used much in 
above-water paints, but is used in bottom paints and in varnishes. 
It is one of the products obtained in the distillation of coal tar. 

Driers—In General. 

To expedite the drying of a paint driers are used. It has been 
found that certain metallic compounds, when mixed with oil, 
add to their drying properties. When raw linseed oil is treated 
in this way and heated to a certain temperature for a definite 
length of time it becomes “ boiled oil.” It is for this reason that 
boiled oil dries more quickly than raw oil. 

If a strongly concentrated mixture of oil and metallic oxides 
is thinned with a volatile thinner, it becomes an “ oil or paint ” 
drier. If a gum or resin is used in the manufacture of the drier, 
it is sometimes called a “ Japan ” drier. 

A drier acts on the oil in a paint and does not affect the pig¬ 
ment. The drier aids the drying of the oil because of a change 
which takes place in the oil due to the chemical action of drier. 
This chemical action is known as catalysis. 

Mixed Paints 

White Paint. 

A white paint consists of a base, usually white lead or white 
zinc, or both, an oil, thinners, and driers. All of these ingredi¬ 
ents have been described in the preceding pages. 

Settling of Pigments. 

A paint is a mixture in which the solid and liquid ingredients 
do not combine chemically. The pigments can separate from the 
vehicle and settle to the bottom of the container. 

A separation of this kind takes place in practically all paints 
where heavy pigments are used. This settling of heavy pig¬ 
ments, in red lead and white lead paints, very often results in 
the pigments forming a hard, solid mass on the bottom of the 
container. 

The caking of the pigment is due to the affinity between par¬ 
ticles of pigment. As soon as they come into contact they unite 
and gradually form a solid mass. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


903 


Prevention of Settling. 

The settling and caking can be greatly reduced by incorpo¬ 
rating in the paint an inert pigment of the type already described. 
These inert pigments get in between the particles of pigment, 
prevent the uniting of the latter, and thereby reduce settling 
and almost entirely obviate caking. 

Value of Thorough Mixing. 

Experience and good judgment are required to know when a 
paint has been properly mixed. In general, however, paint 
should be mixed about fifteen minutes. 

Preparation of Surfaces to be Painted 

Next in importance to a properly compounded, well-mixed 
paint is the careful cleaning of the surface. The old biblical 
adage, “ A house founded on the sand will fall,” holds true in 
paint work. The most expensive paint will be of little value as a 
protective or decorative coating if it is applied on an insecure 
foundation. The paint secures its hold on the surface by the 
penetration of part of the vehicles in the pores of the surface. 
If loose old paint, rust, dirt, dust, moisture, or grease exists on 
the surface, it will prevent the new paint from entering the 
surface pores. 

When painting ironwork it is very important to remove all 
scales, grease, rust, and moisture. Rust has the property of 
spreading and extending from a center if there is the slightest 
chance to do so. Deep-seated rust spots may be removed by 
applying heat from a painter’s torch. The heat converts the rust 
into another form, which is harmless and can be easily dusted off. 

Application of Paint 

As painting on board ship is mostly done by brush, only this 
method of application will be considered. The following advice 
will be of value if properly followed: 

First. Hold the brush by the handle and not by the stock. 
If the brush is held by the stock the hands become covered with 
paint, which may cause blood poisoning, especially if small cuts 
are exposed and lead paints are used. 

Second. Hold the brush at right angles to the surface, with 
the ends of the brush alone touching, and lift it clear of the 
surface when starting the return stroke. If the brush is held 
obliquely to the surface and not lifted the painted surface will 
be uneven, showing laps and spots and a general dauby appear- 

all Third. Do not completely fill the brush with paint. Dip only 
the ends of the brush into the paint. Do not charge the brush 
with paint until the preceding charge has become sufficiently 
exhausted. 


904 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Fourth. Apply the paint with long strokes parallel to the grain 
of the wood. When painting along smooth surfaces draw the 
brush along the whole surface if convenient, so that there will be 
fewer breaks in the lines. 

Fifth. Cross the work by laying off the paint over a small 
section with parallel strokes and then crossing the first appli¬ 
cation with parallel strokes at right angles to the first ones. A 
medium pressure should be applied during the crossing and a 
light pressure during the final laying off. All final laying off 
should be in the length direction of the work. 

Sixth. When painting overhead surfaces, the ceiling panels 
should, as far as possible, be laid off fore and aft, and the beams 
athwartship. Where panels contain a great many pipes running 
parallel with the beams it would be difficult to lay off the ceiling 
panel fore and aft. In such cases better results will be obtained 
by laying off parallel with the beams. 

Seventh. When painting vertical surfaces, bulkheads, etc., 
the work should be laid off vertically. In all cases each suc¬ 
ceeding coat of paint should be laid off in the same direction. 

Eighth. Keep the paint in the pot well mixed while the work 
is proceeding. 

Ninth. Remember that paint applied in a too heavy coat will 
show brush marks and will give an uneven finish. Better results 
will be obtained by applying two coats of thin or medium body 
paint than one coat of heavy paint. 

Tenth. Do not apply a succeeding coat of paint before a pre¬ 
vious coat is sufficiently dry. A paint dries because of its contact 
with the air, and the drying of the first coat will be retarded if 
the second coat is applied too soon. 

Care of Paint 

After a container of paint has been opened and the paint 
partly used it should be covered and kept as air-tight as possible 
to prevent a paint scum from forming on the surface. 

When scums or foreign substances become mixed in with the 
paint it should, before being used, be strained through fine- 
gauge wire or cheesecloth. 

Do not expose shellac unnecessarily to the air, as the alcohol 
evaporates quickly from the shellac, thereby producing a thick 
stringy mass. 

Do not allow nails or other iron substances to fall into shellac, 
as iron will discolor the shellac sufficiently to render it useless. 
Shellac should not be applied on a damp day, as moisture has a 
tendency to turn it white. Always pour unused paint back into 
the stock container and wipe out the empty pot with a brush. 
This will prevent skin forming on the sides of the pot and will 
keep the pot in good condition for the subsequent use. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


905 


Brushes and How to Care for Them 
For general work on board ship the following brushes have 
been found to be most suitable. Sizes are generally specified 
by number in manufacturers’ catalogues. 


Type of Brush 

Suitable for Use on-- 

Flat paint brush. 

Large surfaces. 

Small surfaces. 

Sash tool brush. 

Fitch brush. 

Do. 

Do. 

Very small surfaces. 
Rough work. 

Medium work. 

Oval varnish brush. 

Flat varnish brush. 

Ox-hair varnish brush. 

High-grade work. 

Small surfaces. 

Large work. 

Cleaning work. 

Camel’s-hair lettering brush. 

Do. larger . 

Painter’s dusters. 


How to Prevent Bristles from Falling Out . 

Steps should be taken to tighten the bristles of all brushes 
before they are put in use, since paint and varnish brushes which 
are in every way satisfactory at the time of inspection when 
delivered by contractors, may when issued from store be de¬ 
fective in that they shed bristles to a very objectionable extent. 
This shedding of bristles has been ascertained to be due to the 
drying out of handles while in store. The bristles may be 
tightened by holding the brush in a vertical position with the 
bristles pointing up and wetting the end of the wooden handle 
inside the bristles with about a teaspoonful of water, then 
allowing about half an hour for the handle to swell, thus restoring 
the original pressure of handle and ferrule on the bristles; or it 
is still better to immerse the brush for 24 hours in water to top 
of ferrule. 

How to Properly Clean a Brush. 

No matter how good a brush may be it will be ruined very 
quickly if not properly treated when not in use. A paint brush 
after use should be thoroughly cleaned out in turpentine sub¬ 
stitute or soap and water. If left in water for any length of 
time, the bristles are liable to twist and lose their elasticity. 
After cleaning, the brush should be kept in a trough containing a 
sufficient quantity of raw linseed oil to cover about one-half the 
bristle. Large brushes should have a small hole bored through 
the handle well up toward the stock. A wire can be inserted 
so that the brush can be suspended in the trough of oil. Brushes 
should never be stowed standing in buckets with the weight of 
the brush on the bristles. If large brushes are allowed to stand 
on the point they soon lose their shape and become useless. 

















906 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


{Note. Should a paint brush become quite hard with paint, 
it should be soaked for 24 hours in raw linseed oil and then in hot 
turpentine. This treatment will generally loosen up the bristle.) 

Varnish brushes should be suspended in the same kind of 
varnish with which they are used. If this method is not possible, 
boiled oil may be used instead. If a varnish brush has been 
thoroughly cleaned in turpentine substitute, gasoline, or soap and 
hot water it may be kept lying flat on its side in a suitable box. 

Lettering brushes should be washed in turpentine substitute 
or gasoline until clean. If they are not to be used for some time 
they should be dipped in olive oil and smoothed from heel to 
point. 

Shellac brushes should be kept in a small amount of mixed 
shellac or alcohol. Never put them in water. If the brush is 
not required for use in the near future, clean it in alcohol. 

Binding of Brushes. 

To prevent the bristle in a round brush from spreading, it is 
good practice to bind the heel end of the bristles at the ferrule 
with cotton line. The effect of the serving or binding is to make 
the brush stiffer and to hold the bristles together. As the 
bristles become shorter, due to wear, the binding can be removed. 
Flat brushes need not be bound. 

Varnish 

A varnish is a solution or fluid, usually transparent or trans¬ 
lucent, though occasionally opaque, which when spread upon a 
surface in a thin film dries by the evaporation of its volatile con¬ 
stituents, by the oxidation of other constituents, or partly by 
evaporation and partly by oxidation, to a continuous, protective 
coating which improves or better displays the surface over which 
it is spread, and to a considerable degree protects it from dirt 
and injury. Varnish is usually made by melting resin or varnish 
resins in pots, after which it is mixed with heated linseed oil 
or a mixture of linseed and china wood oils. This compound 
is further heated until the desired consistency has been obtained, 
after which it is thinned with turpentine, mineral spirits, or a 
mixture thereof. The drier is usually added in the form of lead 
manganese oxides. 

Application. After the surface to be varnished has been 
thoroughly cleaned, filled, and rubbed off, the varnish is applied 
with a brush in the form of a uniform coat by crossing the work 
and allowing the varnish to flow in a smooth coating. It is 
essential that the surfaces be thoroughly cleaned from all dust 
particles, as these show plainly in the varnish. 

Three days should be allowed to intervene between coats. 
Three coats should be applied on all new work. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


907 


For a dull finish, rub with pumice stone and water, then wash 
off and dry the surface with damp chamois skin. 

For a gloss finish, rub with pumice stone and crude oil, wipe 
and rub surface with rotten stone, then clean with crude oil 
(8 parts), mineral spirits (1 part), finishing with cheesecloth or 
clean waste. 

Do not apply the varnish too thick as it will not dry under¬ 
neath. The outer surface will dry first, forming a skin which 
will prevent the varnish underneath from coming in contact with 
the air and drying. 


Bituminous Compositions 

Efficiency. Experience extending over a number of years 
has indicated that the most efficient coating for metal work 
when applied on clean or new surfaces in double bottoms, inner 
bottoms, machinery spaces, fresh-water tanks, and similar spaces 
is a material usually made from coal tar, pitch, or asphalt. 

Nature of material. Bituminous composition is generally con¬ 
sidered to consist of a bituminous solution, which is applied 
cold as a priming coat, and a bituminous enamel, which is applied 
hot over the solution. The solution consists of bituminous mate¬ 
rial thinned with a suitable solvent to a brushing consistency. 
The enamel consists of bituminous material of relatively high 
melting point, with or without the addition of mineral matter. 

Notes on the Use of Bituminous Compositions 

(1) The solution will not adhere to a dirty surface and, as 
the solution forms a bond between the metal and the enamel, 
it is essential that, prior to applying the solution, the metal sur¬ 
face be absolutely free from oil, grease, or rust. Many of the 
failures of bituminous compositions have been due to the applica¬ 
tions of the material over dirty surfaces rather than to any in¬ 
herent defect in the bituminous material itself. 

(2) Care must be exercised in heating the enamel previous to 
application. As this material has a tendency to boil over, 
the pot must be only partly filled. The mineral matter tends 
to settle out from the hot enamel, and hence the material must 
be kept well stirred. 

(3) The enamel should be applied to a uniform thickness of 
1/16 to 1/8 inch. Care must be taken to see that the enamel 
completely covers the solution, as the solution itself affords but 
little protection. As the solution and enamel are both black it 
may be difficult to see where the enamel has been applied, but 
with care and proper supervision this difficulty can be avoided. 

Bottom Paints 

Kinds used. Although in the past a number of proprietary 
bottom paints were used, the only bottom paints now used as 


908 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


standard are the anticorrosive and antifouling paints as manu¬ 
factured at navy yards. The formulas for such paints are given 
in the following table. 

Object of anticorrosive bottom paint. To prevent the destruc¬ 
tion of the steel plating an insulating coating is first applied to 
the steel vessel’s bottom. This insulates the metals in the anti¬ 
fouling coating from the steel. This first coating is known as 
the anticorrosive coating because of the fact that it prevents the 
corrosion of the plating. 

Object of antifouling bottom paint. As is well known, the 
object of applying a bottom paint is to prevent the fouling of 
the ship’s bottom. The ingredient used in antifouling paint to 
destroy marine growth is oxide of mercury. The antifouling 
paint should not come in contact with the steel plating of a ship’s 
bottom, since it may cause pitting and the consequent destruction 
of the steel. 

Preparation of surface. It has been stated in the preceding 
section on the preparation of surfaces to be painted, that all 
surfaces must be carefully cleaned. This statement is particu¬ 
larly true in the case of ship bottom paints because of the service 
conditions to which these paints are subjected. Oil and grease 
frequently found at the water line must be cleaned off with 
gasoline or some other solvent of grease. 

Even though all loose paint has been scraped and chipped off, 
the anticorrosive paint will flake off almost as soon as it has been 
applied if the oil and grease have not been removed. 

Application of anticorrosive paint. Before applying any paint 
stir each drum until the paint has reached a uniform consistency. 
As the paint contains heavy pigments which settle rapidly it 
must be frequently stirred during its application. 

The anticorrosive paint dries very quickly because of the quick 
evaporating properties of its vehicle, and for this reason an oper¬ 
ator must take care not to unconsciously keep painting over one 
spot and thereby build up a thick coating, with resultant waste 
of paint. 

The paint should be applied with short rapid strokes, while the 
operator progresses steadily over the area to be painted. 

Application of antifouling paint. The antifouling paint can be 
applied almost immediately over the anticorrosive paint, two 
hours being generally considered a sufficient interval of time 
between the two coats. As in the case of the anticorrosive, the 
antifouling contains heavy metallic pigments. These impart 
to the paint its antifouling properties and must not be allowed 
to settle. Stir the paint frequently. Apply the antifouling paint 
only over the anticorrosive paint and not over bare metal, for 
if this is done pitting of the steel will surely follow. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


909 


Outside Paints 


Material 

Weight per 
Gallon 

Cover¬ 

ing 

Power, 

Sq. 

Yds. 

Ingredients 

Quantities Required for 

1 Gallon 

10 Gallons 

Red lead.... 

25 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

56 

Red lead, dry.. 
Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

20 lbs. 

5 pts. 

2 gills. 

2 gills. 

200 lbs. 

6 gals. 1 qt. 

2 qts. 1 pt. 

2 qts. 1 pt. 

Boot-topping 

red. 

9 lbs. 

10 ozs. 

45 

i 

Venetian red, 
dry. 

Mixing varnish 

Drier. 

Petroleum 
spirits. 

2 lbs. 14V 2 
ozs. 

4 pts. I gill. . 

8% gills. 

31/3 gills. 

29 lbs. 1 oz. 

5 gals. 2y 2 
pts. 

2 gals. 5 pts. 

1 gal. 

Boot-topping 

black. 

9 lbs. 

5 ozs. 

76 

Mixing varnish 

Drier. 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drop black, in 

oil. 

White zinc, 
dry, Ameri¬ 
can process.. 

2 pts. 

2 pts. 

2 pts. IV 2 gills 

2 lbs. 

1 lb. 14 ozs. . 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

3 gals. 

19 lbs. 11 ozs. 

18 lbs. 12 ozs. 

Boot-topping 
slate color. 

9 lbs. 

12 ozs. 

76 

White zinc, dry 
Lampblack, in 

oil. 

Mixing varnish 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

3 lbs. 

3 ozs. 

3 pts. 2 gills . 

2 pts. 

2 pts. 

30 lbs. 

1 lb. 14 ozs. 

4 gals. 3 pts. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

Slate color . . 

15 lbs. 

8 ozs. 

53 

Neutral blanc 

fixe. 

Zinc oxide, dry 
Acheson 

graphite. 

Lampblack, dry 
Linseed oil, 

raw. 

Drier. 

Petroleum 
spirits. 

3 lbs. 5 ozs. . 
3 lbs. 7 ozs. . 

10i/ 2 ozs. 

3/10 oz. 

5 pts. 1 gill. . 
5 gills. 

y 2 giU. 

33 lbs. 

34 lbs. 6 ozs. 

6 lbs. 8 ozs. 

3 ozs. 

6 gals. 5 pts. 

1 gal. 2 qts. 

1 pt. 1 gill 

Outside 

white. 

17 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

54 

White lead, in 

oil. 

White zinc, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed 
oil. 

5 lbs. 

9 lbs. 

3 pts. 

50 lbs. 

90 lbs. 

3 gals. 3 qts. 















































































910 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Outside Paints —Continued 


Material 

Weight per 
Gallon 

Cover¬ 

ing 

Power, 

Sq. 

Yds. 

Ingredients 

Quantities Required for 

1 Gallon 

10 Gallons 

Outside 

white. 

17 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

54 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

Ultramarine 
blue. 

3 gills. 

2 gills. 

1/12 oz. 

3 qts. 1 1/2 pts. 
2 qts. 1 pt. 

4/5 oz. 

Spar color. .. 

18 lbs. 
11 ozs. 

55 

White lead, in 

oil. 

Yellow ocher, 

in oil. 

Venetian red, 

in oil. 

Raw linseed 

oil. 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

14 lbs. 

1 lb. 6 ozs. . . 

9/10 oz. 

3 pts. 1 gill. . 

3% gills. 

iy 2 gills. 

140 lbs. 

14 lbs. 

9 ozs. 

! 3 gals. 3 qts. 

1 gal. 1 pt. 

1 qt. 7 gills 

Spar color for 
smoke¬ 
stacks 
(silica 
paint). 

20 lbs. 
10 ozs. 

37 

Silica, dry. 

White lead, in 

oil. 

White lead, dry 
Yellow ocher, 

in oil. 

Litharge. 

Boiled oil. 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Venetian red, 
dry. 

2 lbs. 

6 lbs. 

6 lbs. 

1 lb. 4 ozs. .. 
1 lbs. 4 ozs. . 
10 gills. 

8 gills. 

1 oz. 

20 lbs. 

60 lbs. 

60 lbs. 

12 lbs. 8 ozs. 
12 lbs. 8 ozs. 

3 gals. 1 pt. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

10 ozs. 

Spar color for 
smoke¬ 
stacks. 

12 lbs. 

40 

Spanish 

whiting. 

Portland 

cement. 

Yellow ocher, 

in oil. 

Venetian red, 

in oil. 

Kerosene oil .. 

4 lbs. 

13 ozs. 

1 lb. 3 ozs. .. 

1 oz. 

6 pts. 2 gills. . 

40 lbs. 

8 lbs. 

12 lbs. 

10 ozs. 

8 gals. 

Slate color 
for smoke¬ 
stacks. 

13 lbs. 

53 

White lead, dry 
White zinc, dry 
Lampblack, dry 

Litharge. 

Mineral oil 
(kerosene)... 

Drier. 

Damar varnish 

4 lbs. 13 ozs.. 

1 lb. 14 ozs... 

5% ozs. 

5% ozs. 

2 qts. 

2i/ 2 gills. 

1 qt. 

48 lbs. 2 ozs. 
18 lbs. 12 ozs. 
3 lbs. 9V 2 ozs. 
3 lbs. 53/4 ozs. 

5 gals. 

3 qts. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 









































































SHIP MAINTENANCE 


911 


Outside Paints —Continued 


Material 

Weight per 
Gallon 

Cover¬ 

ing 

Power, 

Sq. 

Yds. 

Ingredients 

Quantities Required for 

1 Gallon 

10 Gallons 

Outside 

brown. 

17 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

50 

White lead, in 

oil. 

Burnt sienna, 

in oil. 

Burnt umber, 

in oil. 

Indian red, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

10 lbs. 

3 lbs. 

8 ozs. 

4 ozs. 

3 pts. 

3 gills. 

2 gills. 

100 lbs. 

30 lbs. 

5 lbs. 

2 lbs. 8 ozs. 

3 gals. 3 qts. 

3 qts. iy 2 pts. 
2 qts. 1 pt. 

Hospital ship 
green. 

11 lbs. 

8 ozs. 


Chrome green, 

in oil. 

Raw linseed oil 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

Spar varnish .. 

7 lbs. 91/2 ozs. 
5 pts. 2 gills . 

3 3/10 gills . . 
2 gills. 

% gill. 

76 lbs. 

3 gals. 2 2 / 3 
pts. 

1 gal. 

2 qts. 1 % pts. 

1 pt. 

Outside 

black. 

8 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

53 

Lampblack, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

3 lbs. 12 ozs.. 
3 pts. 1 gill . . 

3 gills. 

3V 2 gills..... 

37 lbs. 8 ozs. 

4 gals. y 2 pt. 

3 qts. 1V 2 pts. 

1 gal. 1 gill. 

Anticorrosive 
ship-bot¬ 
tom paint 
(Norfolk 
No. 17). 

11 lbs. 

8 ozs. 

30 

Grain alcohol.. 

Gum shellac, 
grade A . 

Turpentine.... 

Pine-tar oil .. . 

Metallic zinc, 
dry. 

White zinc 
oxide, dry. . . 

3 qts. 

13 ozs. 

2 gills. 

2 gills. 

1 lb. 

3 lbs. 

7 gals. 1 qt. 

7 lbs. 14 ozs. 

4 pts. 31/5 
gills. 

4 pts. 31/5 
gills. 

9 lbs. 8 ozs. 

28 lbs. 8 ozs. 

Antifouling 
ship-bot¬ 
tom paint 
(Norfolk 

No. 19). 

10 lbs. 

8 ozs. 

27 

Grain alcohol.. 

Gum shellac, 
grade A. 

Pine-tar oil . .. 

Turpentine.. . . 

White zinc 
oxide, dry. . . 

Indian red.... 

Red oxide of 
mercury, dry. 

4 pts. 3 gills.. 

1 lb. 8 ozs. . . 

3 gills. 

3 gills. 

1 lb. 8 ozs. . . 

1 lb. 8 ozs. . . 

8 ozs. 

6 gals. 

13 lbs. 12 ozs. 

1 gal. 

1 gal. 

13 lbs. 12 ozs. 
13 lbs. 12 ozs. 

4 lbs. 12 ozs. 


































































912 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Inside Paints 


Material 


Red lead for 
confined 
spaces. 


Weight per 
Gallon 


26 lbs. 
14 ozs. 


Inside white. 


18 lbs. 


Inside white 
for con¬ 
fined 
spaces. 


Flat white. . . 


White 

enamel. 


Priming 

green. 


18 lbs. 
10 ozs. 


Cover¬ 

ing 

Power, 

Sq. 

Yds. 


17 lbs. 
8 ozs. 


11 lbs. 
1 oz. 


18 lbs. 
14 ozs. 


40 


Ingredients 


Red lead, dry . 

Boiled linseed 
oil. 


48 


40 


60 


60 


60 


White lead, in 

oil. 

White zinc, in 
oil (Ameri¬ 
can) . 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

Ultramarine 
blue, in oil... 


White lead, in 
oil. 


Boiled linseed 
oil. 


White zinc, 
French, in oil 
Petroleum 
spirits.... 
Damar varnish 

Drier. 

Ultramarine 
blue, in oil.. 


White zinc, 
French, in oil 
Damar varnish 
Ultramarine 
blue, in oil.. 


Quantities Required for 


1 Gallon 


20 lbs. ioy 2 

OZS. 

6 pts. 1 gill.. 


7 lbs. 

7 lbs. 

7% gills... 

8 y 6 gills... 

iy 2 gins... 

1/12 ozs.. . 


10 Gallons 


206 lbs. 9 
ozs. 

8 gals. 


14 lbs. 9y 2 
ozs. 


5 pts. 


15 lbs. 4 ozs. 


70 lbs. 

70 lbs. 

2 gals. 3 pts. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

3 pts. 3 gills 

4/5 oz. 


146 lbs. 


6 gals. 1 qt. 


3 pts.. 

y 2 giii. 

y 4 gili. 


2/25 oz.. 


4 lbs. 
7 qts. 


1/25 oz. 


152 lbs. 8 ozs 

3 gals. 3 qts. 
5 gills. 

21/2 gills. 

8/10 oz. 


40 lbs. 

8 gals. 3 qts. 

4/10 oz. 


White lead, 
basic sul¬ 
phate, in oil. 
White zinc, in 
oil (Ameri¬ 
can) . 

Petroleum 

spirits. 

Raw linseed oil 

Drier. 

Chrome green, 
in oil. 


7 lbs. 


8 lbs. 


2 pts.. .. 
2 pts.. .. 
iy 2 giiis. 


y 2 oz. 


70 lbs. 


80 lbs. 


2 gals. 2 qts. 
2 gals. 2 qts. 
1 qt. 7 gills. 

5 ozs. 







































































SHIP MAINTENANCE 


913 


Striping Paints —Continued 


Material 

Weight per 
Gallon 

Cover¬ 

ing 

Power, 

Sq. 

Yds. 

Ingredients 

Quantities Required for 

1 Gallon 

10 Gallons 

Black. 

10 lbs. 

11 ozs. 

48 

Lampblack, in 

oil. 

spirits. 

Drier. 

9 lbs. 

1 Pt. 

1 Pt. 

90 lbs. 

1 gal. 1 qt. 

1 gal. 1 qt. 

Green. 

13 lbs. 
10 ozs. 

50 

Chrome green, 

in oil. 

Raw linseed oil 

Drier. 

Petroleum 
spirits. 

10 lbs. 8 ozs 

9y 4 gills. 

2 gills....... 

4% gills. 

105 lbs. 

2 gals. 7 pts. 

2 qts. 1 pt. 

1 gal. 2 qts. 

Red. 

15 lbs. 

7 ozs. 

53 

Vermilion, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

13 lbs. 

2 qts. 

1 Pt. 

2 gills. 

130 lbs. 

5 gals. 

1 gal. 1 qt. 

2 qts. 1 pt. 

Lead color... 

21 lbs. 

7 ozs. 

70 

White lead, in 

oil. 

Lampblack, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

17 lbs. 

1 lb. 

7 gills. 

7 gills. 

1 gill. 

170 lbs. 

10 lbs. 

2 gals. 1 qt. 

2 gals. 1 qt. 

2 pts. 2 gills. 

Yellow. 

13 lbs. 
12 ozs. 

48 

Chrome yellow, 

in oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

11 lbs. 

2 pts. 

1 Pt. 

1 gill. 

110 lbs. 

2 gals. 2 qts. 

1 gal. 1 qt. 

2 pts. 2 gills. 

Blue. 

16 lbs. 

4 ozs. 

48 

Ultramarine 
blue, in oil... 
White lead, in 

oil. 

Raw linseed oil 
Petroleum 

spirits. 

Drier. 

2 lbs. 10 ozs.. 

10 lbs. 10 ozs. 
2 pts. 1 gill .. 

1 Pt. 

2 gills. 

26 lbs. 4 ozs. 

106 lbs. 4 ozs. 
2 gals. 3 qts. 

1 gal. 1 qt. 

2 qts. 1 pt. 


Miscellaneous Formula 


Under cork.. 

12 lbs. 

15 

Spanish 




5 ozs. 


whiting. 

7 lbs. 5y 2 ozs. 

73 lbs. 8 ozs. 




Interior 






varnish. 

5 pts. 1 gill... 

6 gals. 2 qts. 




Raw linseed oil 

1 gill. 

10 4/5 gills. 




Drier. 

1 gill. 

10 4/5 gills. 





































































































914 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


Asphalt Cement 


Paving asphalt. 

. pounds 
...do.. 

90 

25 

Val Travprc flQnhfllt . 

...do.. 

25 

Powdered English resin. 

clarlr limp . 

...do.. 

...do.. 

2 

3y 2 

PnrtlflTid cptripnt . 

...do.. 

30 

This is boiled four hours and kept working during boiling, 
first coated with formula No. 58. 

The metal is 


Linoleum Cement 

Spanish whiting.pounds 120 

Gum shellac, grade B.<J° • • . 

Alcohol (grain).gallons 7Vz 

Gasoline. do • • J 

Crude rubber.ounces 2 

The rubber is cut in the gasoline and is then added to the mixture of the 

other three ingredients and the whole is then ground to an intimate mixture. 
The price of this cement is approximately 8 cents per pound, and since there 
are about 10y 2 pounds of cement in 1 gallon, the price per gallon is approx¬ 
imately 84 cents. Pre-war prices. 

Slate Color Smoothing Cement 


(For 100 pounds.) 

Spanish whiting.pounds 10 

White lead, dry.do .. 32 

White zinc, American, dry.do .. 16 

Litharge. 4o. . 16 

Lampblack, American, dry.do .. 16 

Raw linseed oil.gallons IV 2 

Turpentine. do • • % 

Drier.do .. % 

Red Smoothing Cement 
(For 100 pounds.) 

Venetian red, dry.pounds 10 

Spanish whiting.do .. 32 

White lead, dry.do .. 16 

White zinc, American, dry.do .. 16 

Litharge. do.. 16 

Raw linseed oil.gallons 1V 2 

Turpentine.do .. 3 /4 

Japan drier. do.. % 

Oil and Water Stop* 

(Weight per gallon, 19 pounds.) 

Clear shellac.3 quarts 2 gills. 

Red lead, dry.12 y 2 pounds. 


* The above will give a mixture about the consistency of thick paste. For 
light plating, stops will be made by soaking 10-ounce canvas for one-half day 
in clear shellac, then coated with the above mixture. For heavy plating> 
ball lamp wick will be treated in the same way. 































SHIP MAINTENANCE 


915 


Cementing 

The use of cement wash in tanks and in other parts of the 
ship is increasing. This makes a very good protective cover and 
can be used where moisture would prevent the adhesion of other 
materials. 

Have the surfaces clean and use sharp sand. Sea sand, 
tumbled about by the waves with the small sharp edges worn off 
is not the best. Sharp sand is the sand dug from the side of a 
bank. Sometimes this also is worn. 

Portland cement takes its initial set in about a half hour, 
possibly sooner. Do not mix cement mortar until ready to use 
it at once. When cement mortar takes its initial set some men 
re-temper it, that is they soften it up with a trowel. This makes 
it less strong. 

As portland cement will harden best under water it is an ideal 
material for use in tanks. Salt water does not materially effect 
its strength. 

Where hot water is run into tanks the asphaltic compounds 
soften and cement should be used. 

Drinking tanks coated with cement wash, and allowed to 
season, are very satisfactory. After the cement has hardened 
fill and empty them, or wash them down with a fresh water hose 
before filling. 

Where deep pockets have to be cemented use clean sharp 
cinders as an aggregate . Work the spaces between them full of 
cement mortar. 

Mortar is generally best with one part of cement to two of 
sand. This coats each grain of sand and also fills the spaces in 
between. 

This is called a 1-2 mixture. 


II 

Docking 

The American Bureau of Shipping recommends that all vessels 
be docked within six months of launching. 

Periodical docking thereafter is necessary and should be a 
regular part of the maintenance program. 


916 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


When necessary to get at a 
vessel’s bottom she may be put 
into the following kinds of 
docks: 

Graving, or dry dock . This is 
an excavation that fills at high 
water. The vessel is floated 
in, a gate is closed and the 
dock is pumped out, the vessel 
resting on keel and bilge blocks 
and held by wale shores. 

Floating dock. This consists of a series of pontoons with 
bottom and sides. Sea cocks are opened and the dock sinks, 
the bottom pontoons lying below the level of the vessel’s keel. 
The vessel is then floated into the submerged dock, placed over 
the blocks and the dock is pumped out, rising under the vessel 
on the blocks, and lifting her. No wale shores are used. 




A Floating Dock. 

The Marine Railway is limited to lifting vessels of moderate 
tonnage. This is simply a reversal of the process of launching. 
A vessel is hauled up an inclined railway, riding in a cradle 
running on tracks that extend under water beneath the vessel 
to be hauled out. A heavy winch or engine is connected to the 
cradle by means of chains or wire purchases. 

















SHIP MAINTENANCE 


917 


In former times, before the use of docks and when craft were 
smaller, heaving down , and careening was resorted to. 



A Marine Railway . 

Strictly speaking a vessel was hove down in deep water, her 
bottom being exposed by the simple expedient of attaching 
tackles from her mast heads to another vessel, or a hulk, and 
heeling her over. Suitable preventer shrouds were rigged. 

Where a propeller wheel is damaged, and no dock available, 
this method, applied longitudinally, is often used. See next page. 

Careening consists in running a vessel on a sloping beach at 
high tide and letting the drop of the tide heel her over and 
expose her bottom for examination or repair. 

These two ancient practices are practical for small craft and 
are still employed where other facilities are not available. 

Breaming is the term used when grass and other marine growth 
is burned off of a vessel’s bottom. 

The repairs to be made on an average vessel when in dry dock 
are summed up in the following note from Marine Engineering: 

“ The length of time between dry-dockings depends upon 
many factors, such as the port repair facilities, time available, 
the practice of the operating company, etc. Some companies 
make it a custom to dry dock a vessel every six months, others 
at a much longer interval. The United States Shipping Board 
has tried to average about eight months between dockings. 
It is wise to dry dock a new vessel within six months of launching. 





918 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


“ Besides the managing company’s shore representative, a 
surveyor from the registration society, and possibly an inspector 
from the United States Steamboat Inspection Service, who have 
been notified in advance of the docking, will make an inspection 
of the vessel and require or suggest various repairs, some of 
which are noted here. If the shell plating is indented percep¬ 
tibly, these plates should be located, and if not faired at this 
time a record should be kept of same so as to place the responsi- 
bility. 

“ If it be a new vessel it will be advisable to remove the 
propeller fair water cone and harden up the propeller nuts 
(which may take up a quarter of a turn in the case of a new 
wheel). If time permits, find the pitch of the propeller, doing 
this for all blades. Examine and harden up blade nuts of 
separable blade propeller, if necessary. Measure the amount 
of clearance in the stern bearing (i. e., the amount the shaft is 
down). The lignum vitae is bored for a clearance of about 
1/16 inch and the classification societies require that this bearing 
be re-wooded when this clearance as shown by a tapered wooden 
wedge has increased to about 5/16 inch. 

“ Tail Shaft and Rudder Gudgeon Bearings 

“ If the tail shaft has two separate bronze liners , or one at the 
stern bearing near the propeller and one in way of the stuffing 



Exposing a damaged propeller by shifting weights forward. 

box at the aft peak bulkhead, the classification societies will 
require that the shaft be drawn clear of the stern tube for survey 













SHIP MAINTENANCE 


919 



every two years. This consists in tapping the liners lightly to 
see whether they are loose, also to examine the shaft between 
the liners for cracks or undue corrosion. The fit of the propeller 
on the tail shaft should also be examined. This must bear at 
the large end of the taper; the small end of the shaft’s taper can 
be .005 inch smaller in diameter than the hole in the hub for a 
large propeller. The fit and bearing of the key should also be 
checked, as, if local, the tail shaft may crack; looseness will, of 
course, cause vibration. Some firms, with the separate liner 
type of tail shaft, red lead the shaft between liners and cover it 
with canvas and a layer of rope marline coated with red lead. 
If the bronze liners are continuous, i. e., in separate pieces but 
soldered to each other at the joints, the societies call for the tail 
shaft survey every three years. 

“ Further repairs directly under the engineering department 
would be to examine and grind in, if necessary, all sea valves, 
clear their strainers and re¬ 
pack the tail shaft gland. 

“ The rudder gudgeon pin 
or pintle bearings should be 
examined for proper bearing 
and clearance; when new, the 
latter may be about 3/32 inch 
on the diameter of the pin for 
a fair sized cargo vessel. The 
gudgeon pin bearings are 
either lignum vitae or bronze, 
although of late soft steel has 
been used. 


“ Riveting, Scraping and 
Painting 

“ It is advisable where pos¬ 
sible when docking to have all 
ballast tanks full, as any leaks 
will then readily show up. 
Any tanks that require clean¬ 
ing or rivet driving may be 
drained, although with steam 
up they can be more quickly 
pumped out, and the writer 
would advise that steam be 
kept up, as the ship can be 
listed or trimmed, if desired, 
and is under control. All 
leaky rivets will be calked, 


The propeller unshipped by use of 
chain hoists. This and above photo 
show work on S. S. Nesco , Capt. E. R. 
Bergh. Done at Fayal , Azores. 





920 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


hardened up or re-driven as required by the classification society 
surveyor and the work when completed passed by him. 

“ Before coming off the dry dock it is customary to wire¬ 
brush or scrape the shell plating and apply one coat of anti¬ 
corrosive, together with a coat of anti-fouling, below the light 
waterline and one of boot-topping above. 

“ If the important repairs, condition of the hull, condition and 
clearance of tail shaft and rudder gudgeon bearings and any 
other important data are noted in the log books, much money 
will be saved in the operation of the vessel by avoiding the need¬ 
less repetition of certain repairs, and a better report can be 
turned into the managing company.” See Maintenance book . 

In addition to the above a great deal of work is done by the 
deck department. Cables are ranged on the floor of the dock 
and all shackle pins knocked out and examined. Markings are 
overhauled and the chain tested. This work may not be done 
every time the vessel docks but it should be attended to at every 
second docking at least. Then too, the absence of water on 
deck makes it a good time to do a lot of deck painting in water¬ 
ways, etc. 

On entering a dock the Chief Mate or Master should consult 
the dock master and get the rules and regulations of the dock. 
The Dock Master will call for the docking plan, and this 
should be ready for him. 

Where there is no docking plan, on a large vessel the dock 
master will get certain dimensions, draft, dead rise, etc., from 
the regular blue prints. 

It is generally best to enter a dock light, tanks pumped out, 
etc. The vessel should be on an even keel and a good method 
of putting her exactly even is to hang a hand lead over the stem, 
where the vessel has a straight stem. 

Assistance should be given in every way to the dock master 
and his crew. 

While in dock examine carefully and note the location of all 
under-water valves. See the condition of the bottom, the loca¬ 
tion and state of the zinc plates near bronze valves and propeller. 
The condition and actual construction of the rudder. Keep in 
mind the possibility of some day having to use a jury rig. Make 
careful notes of everything that pertains to the maintenance of 
the vessel and enter it in the maintenance book under the head- 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


921 


ing of “docking.” Each docking should be given a serial num¬ 
ber with date, place, condition of hull and fittings, also repairs 
effected, time in dock, and remarks. 

When docking, after grounding, examine cement in double 
bottoms also “ sight ” all outside bilge strakes to note any 
deflection. 

An interesting article on the corrosion of steel vessels appeared 
in Yachting of November, 1918, and we quote from it here. 

“ It is significant that when examining a vessel’s bottom after 
several months at sea it is seldom, if ever, that corrosion is found 
to have taken place equally over any considerable area; it is 
invariably found in 4 spots,’ as exemplified by the familiar ‘ rust- 
cones.’ This is exactly what one would expect from galvanic as 
distinct from chemical action, and seems to support the theory 
that even the commencement of corrosion is attributable to 
electrical action. 

“ Zinc protectors are, of course, a valuable preventative of 
corrosion, but their action is distinctly local. In way of valves 
through the ship’s bottom, propellers of gun metal or other alloys, 
etc., they divert the electrolythic action to themselves, but their 
radius of influence is not great. In order to render any effectual 
help in combating corrosion of the vessel’s structure, it would 
be necessary to fit thousands of them, an obviously impractical 
arrangement. 

“ An interesting feature about the corrosion of vessels’ bottoms 
is that it is enormously greater nearer the waterline than at the 
bottom portions of the structure, more particularly in the case of 
deep-draught vessels. Thus, in one special case of a vessel 
of 26 or 28 feet draught, experience showed that the corrosion 
was small in those portions deeper than about 20 feet; it then 
increased rapidly up to a depth of about 6 or 8 feet, above which 
it was more or less constant and greater than the remainder 
This phenomenon is probably due to the fact that in those, 
portions of the surrounding water which were constantly aerated 
by the disturbing motion of the sea, fresh active corrosive 
elements are continually added. Hence, the especial care which 
is bestowed upon the ‘ between wind and water ’ portions of a 
vessel’s hull, which is frequently coated with a special ‘ boot- 
topping.’ ” 

When in some foreign docks be careful about little things like 
having the zinc plates stripped off at night just before flooding 
the dock. This has been done. 

Also, before flooding be satisfied that all bottom plugs, re- 


922 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


moved for drainage, have been properly replaced. The Chief 
Mate and First Assistant should look after this themselves. 

On leaving a dock a large vessel may be riding very light. 
The unfortunate case of the St. Paul , capsizing shortly after 
leaving dry dock, where it is said some sea cocks were left open 
by workmen, should be kept in mind. Also always close all 
lower coal ports. Take every precaution against capsizing. A 
vessel once out of the dock should at once fill enough of her 
ballast tanks to insure stability. 

The dry dock and the repair yard are an excellent place for the 
seaman to gain knowledge of the structure of his ship. The 
repairs that go on, the opening up of vessels, afford a fine oppor¬ 
tunity to study naval construction at first hand and to see the 
effects of collisions and other accidents. 

It is a very useful thing for the ship’s officer to know just what 
repairs can be made. Some of the recent Thermit welds almost 
surpass belief. Nowadays nothing seems to be broken beyond 
complete repair. 

Ill 

Decks 

The ship’s deck, where planking is laid, deserves better care 
than is given it on the average vessel today. Once the deck was 
almost holy and a shipmaster looked upon a spot on the deck as a 
direct personal grievance. Chief mates were constantly looking 
after the condition of the deck. Tar spots on deck brought down 
the wrath of the mate as nothing else. In fact a snow white 

deck has a wonderful effect upon 
all hands. On passenger vessels 
and on the bridge about the 
wheelhouse and wherever plank 
decking is to be found the same 
care should be taken as in the 
past. 

Deck plugs are often set with 
the grain running at an angle 
with the planking and graving pieces are put in without regard 
to finish. Best deck plugs are made of white pine or poplar. 
Always use graving pieces, do not run strokes full of pitch or 



How to fit a Graving Piece. 















SHIP MAINTENANCE 


923 


glue. Most American decks are of long leaf yellow pine. 
Margin plank is often made of teak, a brownish wood that is not 
discolored by rust. Teak is a very durable wood excellent for 
decking and boat construction. It is said to resist decay for two 
thousand years when properly handled. Teak may therefore be 
considered durable enough for any part of a modern steel vessel. 

Deck seams are caulked with oakum and pitched or filled 
with marine glue . For fine promenade decks white marine 
glue is sometimes used and makes a very smart-looking deck. 

The directions below are given with Jeffrie’s Marine Glue: 

14 lbs. of marine glue will run from 200 to 250 ft. of seam 
% in. deep by */ 4 in. wide. If properly used and not over heated, 
it will last 4 to 6 years in a seam, and has been known to last 
10 to 12 years. When carefully applied to a dry deck it will never 
leave the sides of the seam. 


Caulking Decks 

The oakum to be laid well down in the seam, hard, leaving the 
seam three-quarters of an inch deep after caulking, for the glue, 
the seam as usual, to be payed promptly. 

Water, cold naptha, or coal oil to be used in dipping the caulk¬ 
ing irons, as linseed oil or grease prevents the glue from adhering 
to the edge of the planks. 


Paying Decks 

should be poured from the ladle into 
the ladle an inch from the deck. 


In paying decks the glue 
the seams, holding the nose of 

Note.—If the ladle is drawn 
on the seams, as is frequently 
done when pitch is used, a quan¬ 
tity of atmosphere is enveloped, 
and has not time to escape be¬ 
fore the glue becomes set; this 
will cause air bubbles in hot 
weather and leave the seams 
hollow and unsound. 

The workmen in all cases 
paying from them, that is walk¬ 
ing backwards. 

When old caulking is to be 



Paying Seams of Deck. 

broken out a rase knife is used to 
clear the seams, in order that the glue may adhere to the edge 
of the plank; the seams may be afterwards caulked or hardened 
down, as may be required, to the depth before described, viz., 









924 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 




three-quarters of an inch, if the thickness of the timber will allow 
of it; and if the weather be sufficiently fine to allow the decks to 
be payed with pitch, it will do also for the glue. 

Cleaning Off 

The deck to be cleaned off on the following day if the ship be 
required for immediate service, otherwise it is best to clean off 
when she goes to sea. No inconvenience from its uncleanliness 
will be found as with pitch.” 

Caulking 

The caulking of a ship’s seams and the caulking of decks, is of 
such ancient origin that no one can say with certainty when 
the art was first practiced. Undoubtedly it was an old method 
of making a vessel watertight, even in the days of Noah. 


TW 

! 



Making orBent Dumb Iron Butt orReefing 

Iron Iron Iron Iron Iron 


The tools used by caulkers carry with them the slow changes 
of this ancient art. Caulkers, as a body of men, are slow to talk, 
and long on thinking and thoroughness. And in speaking of 
“ caulkers ” we refer to the men who have grown up in the 
craft. 

The tools of the caulker are his special pride. Caulking and 
golf have much in common. The right “ iron ” must be used, 

and it must be used in just the right 
way. The oakum must be rolled 
just so, the seam must be reamed 
open, if too close, the hawsing iron 
may have to be employed, driven 
in by the hawsing beetle , a large long-handled maul with soft 
steel rings, mind you, and not the tempered steel rings of the 
caulking mallet. 


02 = 



Hawsing Iron. 






























SHIP MAINTENANCE 


925 


In fact the whole business, or I should say, “ art ” of caulking 
is hedged in with technicalities. 

Like so many things connected with ships and the sea, the 
question of caulking has many sides. The reaming iron is 
really a broad sharp-edged chisel. The 
hawsing iron is held by a loose iron 
handle, giving the helper a chance to 
stand clear of the long handled haws¬ 
ing beetle . The hawsing iron may be 
sharp like the reaming iron, or it may 
have a square edge like the caulking 
iron. 

Caulking irons are of various shapes 
and kinds, as shown in the illustrations. 

The making iron has a sharp edge; the 
deck or dumb iron, a broad edge. The 
edge of irons maybe sharp, or squared 
off or have one, two, or three creases. 

When old oakum is to be cleared out of a seam a reef hook is 
used, also a rase knife or reefing iron may be used. The boot 
iron is a long-handled caulking tool used to get the oakum into 
places not easily reached by the ordinary irons. 

While the irons are import¬ 
ant, the old caulker places a 
great deal of store by his mallet. 
In the first place a real mallet 
must be of specially seasoned 
Head of Caulking Mallet. live oak. Nothing else will do 

as well. Black mesquite and 
red wood , have been used, and during the war thousands of 
white oak mallets were made, but the real caulking mallet must 
be of live oak, otherwise it has no virtue. A caulker, when 
selecting his mallet will try the “ ring ” of every mallet in the 
shop, working them down one against another until his choice 
falls between two. Then for a half hour or so he will try them, 
striking the ends of the mallet with a caulking iron. Have you 
ever heard the peculiar musical ring of a caulking mallet? This 
is simply the outward evidence of the perfect rebound of a fine 
mallet. 

























926 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


A first-rate caulking mallet will spring back into position for 
the next stroke without effort on the part of the experienced 
caulker. This effect is largely due to the “ slits ” to be found 
in the best mallets. The slits are in line with the hole for the 
handle and are placed with the greatest care, directly through 
the axis of the hammer. 

Mr. G. W. Campbell, of 253, Broadway, New York, who has 
made caulking tools for the past thirty-five years, is authority 
for much of the lore here given. 

The caulker is a conscientious man; 
the safety of the ship and its lives de¬ 
pend upon the honesty and thorough¬ 
ness of his work; perhaps he feels this; 
it is a part of the business, and he is very 
touchy about his tools. 

Of course we all know that a caulking 
iron is held as shown in the drawing, 
and worked along a seam in the deck 
with a rocking motion. 

Many a fine deck has been ruined by 
poor caulking. Now that the war is over we are getting back to 
the old smart ways at sea. 

IV 

Washing Down 

Washing down is a daily rite on every 
well-conducted vessel and usually takes 
place in the morning watch just after coffee 
around the fore hatch. Where wooden 
decks are to be kept in condition it is very 
necessary. Where coal is burned it clears 
away the cinders, freshens up the wooden 
fittings on deck and generally puts a morn¬ 
ing shine on things fore and aft. Wash 
deck gear should be kept in special chests 
near the hose reels. Wash deck hose 
should be small, fitting to the deck plugs 
with suitable reducers. IV 2 inch hose is 
very handy. 



McNab-Kitseil hose 
coupling — open. 



How to hold a Caulking 
Iron. 












SHIP MAINTENANCE 


927 


Coir brooms are best for decks, and long-handled holystones 
shou Id be used on the white decks at least once a week with 
plenty of sand. Where plain ladders and hand rails are used, 
sand and canvas with plenty of elbow grease is all that is 



necessary to make the ship look like a Dutch kitchen of a Sun¬ 
day morning. 

Gratings should always be left in the 
natural wood and scrubbed with sand and 
canvas. , j 

A very handy hose coupling has been de¬ 
vised, doing away with threads. The 
coupling has no “ male ” or “ female ” 
parts and can be attached anywhere. This 
is the McNab-Kitsell coupling. 

Swabs have gone out of fashion but may 
come back again. It is a nice sailor job 
to make hand and deck swabs, and all 
paint work and varnish work wet with salt 
water should be swabbed off before it dries. *'"'*^£*** 
Only lubbers use waste for this purpose. 

Swabs are economical. Waste is well named. 


Squeegees should be used on the deck before swabbing. 

In many liners the promenade deck is washed down and 
holystoned at night, winding up at the end of the mid¬ 
watch. 

Brass work is going out of fashion as an evidence of smartness. 
Very little goes a long way. A shiny door handle with a rim 
of grease about the base of it, smearing the white paint, is a 
left-handed sort of smartness. 

The gangway should be washed and wiped down each morning 
when in port. 

Wherever canvas screens are fitted have them clean , and al¬ 
ways in good repair. 

Do not attempt anything that cannot be kept up. Have 
everything simple but clean . Wheel covers, binnacle covers, 
telegraph covers, all should be kept clean, and should be 
scrubbed when at sea and stowed away clean and dry for 
use when in port. 


33 



928 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The routine of washing down should be carefully worked 
out by the Chief Mate, the men told off for certain duties until 
the work is reduced to a system eliminating all wasted effort. 
Follow this principle throughout. If you save a half hour by 
this give it to the men to clean up for breakfast. 

V 

Laying Up 

A modern vessel deteriorates rapidly when out of active ser¬ 
vice unless the greatest care is taken to protect all exposed 
metal parts, to keep water out of boats, to open up all scuppers 
and drains, and to keep the tanks and bilges free from stagnant 
water. Deck machinery is specially subject to neglect under 
conditions generally prevailing when a craft lies idle. 

White lead and tallow, should be applied to all exposed 
wearing surfaces and cylinders and valves should be oiled in¬ 
ternally before draining off steam. 

Decks are liable to rapid deterioration. This is specially 
so of planked decks in warm weather ports. The daily wetting 
down is a necessity that should be provided for when a vessel 
is out of active service. 

The safety of a vessel itself, whether at a wharf or lying in 
the stream, is of the greatest importance. Where craft are 
moored close together damage is certain to follow with heavy 
weather. The placing of lines and laying out of anchors under 
these conditions is of the utmost importance. Lines may chafe 
through, anchors may foul and loose their holding power. 

Vessels moored in shallow water may rest on the bottom at 
low tide. On the face of it this may not seem harmful, but 
boulders have a habit of getting under ships, and vessels have 
been known to ride over their own or other vessel’s anchors 
and settle down with the tide, the anchor flukes punching up 
against their bottom plates. 

Vessels covered with salt water marine growths are best 
taken care of when anchored or tied up in fresh water. 

The fire risk is great on idle vessels. Nothing but careful 
policing and constant attention to the ship by selected ship 
keepers can lessen this risk. 


SHIP MAINTENANCE 


929 


Where a vessel is laid up under proper supervision and a 
skeleton crew is kept at regular work, the ship may come into 
active service in good condition and with much valuable work 
done. A vessel laid up should be surveyed and a plan of main¬ 
tenance work provided. This should be done each day by the 
stand-by crew, no matter how small. Washing, cleaning and 
painting should go on constantly during working hours. Night 
watches should be strictly kept and all lines and ground tackle 
tended, riding and gangway lights kept lit. 

The log book should be written up each day, and signed by 
the responsible ship keeper. Stores received, issued and ex¬ 
pended should be entered in the log, or stores ledger, and every 
detail of the business of keeping ship should be recorded. 

A vessel out of service represents a heavy charge against the 
owners, and the owners should insist upon proper care and an 
authentic record of such care. 

VI 

The Maintenance Book 

This is an important record and should remain with the ship 
from voyage to voyage, being turned over from one Chief Mate 
to another, by the Master, who should inspect it from time to 
time and initial his approval, or disapproval. 

The Maintenance Book should be divided into the various parts 
of the ship. 

Fore peak. 

Chain locker—Grond tackle. 

Forecastle under deck. 

Forecastle upper deck. 

No. 1 lower hold. 

lower ’tween deck, 
upper ’tween deck. 

And so on, taking in the bridge deck, boats and all parts 
coming under the jurisdiction of the Chief Mate. 

All repair work, alterations, painting, etc., should be entered 
with the date, the time employed, the number of men, and a 
brief description of what was done, material used, etc. 

A separate section for dockings will, as indicated previously, 
be of great value later on. 


930 


STANDARD SEAMANSHIP 


The Chief Mate may tell off a smart youngster, who writes a 
good hand, to keep the book posted up to date, using the Boat¬ 
swain’s Order Book, and his own notes to compile the data. 
Most mates, where a Maintenance Book is kept, write it up 
themselves as a record of their personal care of the vessel. 

The Maintenance Book should also have a column for repair 
notes, giving the parts in need of repair, when and how broken. 
This forms a constant record of repairs needed, of repairs made 
at sea, and of repairs made in port, or by shore labor. A wide 
awake owner will require an abstract from the ship’s Mainten¬ 
ance Book to be deposited at the office after each voyage, same 
to be certified as correct by the Master, Chief Engineer and 
Chief Mate. 


In closing the author wishes to leave a final word with his 
readers. Seamanship can only be acquired at sea. The pro¬ 
fessional seaman , after a long apprenticeship , develops a special 
aptitude and sea habit unknown to those who live ashore. The 
great size of vessels and the modern complication of their gear , 
calls for constant study and practice. Wherever possible prac¬ 
tice the art of seamanship . Learn all you can and instruct 
others , this is specially the duty of an officer—he must be a 
leader and an instructor in all things pertaining to his work. 

When seamanship is neglected the world at large has no great 
respect for seamen. Stranding s, collisions , fires , foundering 
and numerous minor accidents leave an appalling loss of life 
and property in their wake. Bad luck always follows close be¬ 
hind the lubberly seafarer. The sooner owners , underwriters , 
examiners and seafaring men themselves come to realize this 
the better for safe and profitable commerce on the sea. 

When seamanship is diligently practiced it attains its just 
importance , and the thorough seaman takes on a personal dig¬ 
nity in keeping with his great responsibilities . 



INDEX 


Accommodation ladder, 45 
Acland, Mr. Frank D., 36 
Admiralty Manual on Com¬ 
pass Adjustment, 458 
Admiralty, Manual of Sea¬ 
manship, 726 
Advance, ship, 754 
Affreightment, contract of, 
762 

Alejandrina, Ship, 747 
Alison, Mr. J. Melville, 83 
Allingham, Mr. Wm., Man¬ 
ual of Marine Meteor¬ 
ology, 795-797 
Aluminum, 65 
American, S. S., 655-692 
American, Dutch S. S., 
715 

American Bureau of Ship¬ 
ping, 25, 30, 37, 39, 51, 
189, 237, 299, 300, 301, 
303, 363, 367, 624, 629, 
633, 739, 758, 915 
American-Hawaiian Line, 
173, 291 

American Museum of Safe¬ 
ty, 876 

American Practical Navi¬ 
gator, 456 

Am. Society of Naval Archi¬ 
tects and Marine Engi¬ 
neers, 723 

Ames, Henry C., 217 
Anchor, backing an, 658 
coming to, 645-646 
davit, 50 
pocket, 650 

riding at single, 656- 
657 

shackies, 636 
stem, 629-630 
stern, 4, 630 
testing holding power, 
627-628 

to lay out, 651-653 
weighing, 647-648 
Andrina, Ship, 747 
Angle, 41 

Anschutz Kaempfe, 470 
Anchoring, 655-656 
a sailer, 792-793 
scope of chain, 647 
Anchors, 622 

Admiral, 626 
Allison, 626 
boat, 630 
Baldt, 626 
bower, 629 
classification of, 629 


Anchors, Dunn, 626 
Eells, 627-628 
grapnel, 628-630 
Gruson-Hein, 625-626 
kedges, 630 
marking, A. B. S. rules, 
631-632 
mooring, 628 
mushroom, 631, 648 
National, 626 
old-fashioned, 623-624 
sea, 703-704 
sheet, 629 
stowing, 649-651 
stream, 630 
Trotman’s 628-629 
Applied Naval Architec¬ 
ture, 671-672 
Approaching port, 571 
Aquitania, S. S., 7, 469 
Arakan, S. S., 742, 743, 744, 
747 

Archbold, S. S., John D., 363 
Ark, 71 

Articles of agreement, 760 
Atkin, Judge, 258 
Audio piloting cable, 530- 
531 

Auxiliary craft, 17 
Average, kinds of, 763 
Awning deck, 5 
jack stays, 45 
stanchions, 45 

Baldheaded schooner, 16 
Balsa wood, for insulation, 
297 

Bark, 15 

Barkentine, 12, 15, 216 
Barranca, S. S., 302 
Bartlett, Capt. Robert A., 
660-663 
Basis, 80 
Beam, 44, 45 
knee, 44, 45 
box, 48 

Beams, lower deck, 45 
poop deck, 45 

Bearings, data on, 517-520 
Bedding, 888 

Bedford's Sailor's Pocket 
Book, 888 
Bees, 47 

Belaying pin, 45, 46 
Bellingham, S. S., 607 
Belt conveyor, 178 
Bends, 85 

carrick, 91 
double carrick, 91 

931 


Bends, fisherman’s, 92 
open carrick, 91 
reeving line, 91 
sheet, 90 

stuns’le halyard, 93 
stuns’le tack, 93 
Ben Lodi, S. S., 000 
Bennett, Commodore A. B., 
of U. S. Power Squad¬ 
rons, 799 

Benson Telemotor, 552 
Bent plate washer, 46 
Berengaria , S. S., 7 
Bergensfjord, S. S., 469 
Bergh, Capt. E. R., 919 
Bernard, Capt. W. J., 464 
Bethlehem S. B. Corp., 308 
Biles’ Design and Con¬ 
struction of Ships, 23 
Bilging, 737 
Bilge blocks, 46 
keels, 720 
keelsons, 000 
stringers, 000 
water, 000 
Bilges, 303 
Bill of health, 761 
Bill of lading, 761 
Binns, Jack, 732 
Birchman, Capt., 712 
Bismarck, S. S., 7 
Bitts, 46 

Bitucoat Company, 891 
Blind port, 60 
Bliss Log, 490 
Blockades, 767 
Block coefficient, 23, 46 
Blocks, 166 

design of, 132 
extra heavy, 132 
five-fold purchase, 159 
kinds of, 132 
ordering, 136 
parts of, 129 
rope strapped, 132 
Bluejacket's Manual, 451 
Board of Underwriters of 
New Orleans, rules for 
grain, 281 
Board of Trade, 31 
Board of Underwriters of 
N. Y., 277-280 
Boats, ancient galleys, 427 
balsa wood, 388 
beaching through a 
surf, 436 

boarding a wreck, 439 
capacity, to determine, 
396 








932 


INDEX 


Boats, carvel built, 387 
cat rig, 446 
certificated lifeboat 
men, 405 
chocking, 410 
classes of, 394 
clinker built, 386 
collapsible, 417 
cutter, 426 
davits, 398, 402, 410 
old-fashioned, 441 
Steward, 398 
Welin, 408, 411- 
416 

diagonal built, 387 
double-banked, 430 
drill, 382, 404, 413 
Englehardt type, 417 
equipment of lifeboats, 
400 

equipment of rafts, 402 
falls, 82 

reeving, 422 
Falmouth lugger, 446- 
450 

food and water for, 401 
framing, 390 
handling, 418 

under sail, 446 
hoisting and lowering, 
412, 420 

International Confer¬ 
ence on Safety of 
Life at Sea, 385 
kites, 418 
lowering, 419 
Lundin, Capt. A. P., 
letter from, 407 
Lundin decked, 406 
Lundin housed power 
lifeboat, 395 
management in a surf, 
432 

man overboard, 441 
marking of boats and 
rafts, 400 
metal, 389 
motor boats, 394 
nested, 411 
oar, parts of, 424 
oil, use of, 439 
parts of a, 389 
pontoon rafts, 399 
power lifeboat, 389 
radio, 395, 418, 440 
rafts, 396, 414 
releasing gear, Mills, 
419 

Raymond, 422 
Steward, 421 
Yankee, 422 
riding out a gale, 438 
Rouse sea anchor, 438 
rowing, 424 

to seaward, 433 
running before a bro¬ 
ken sea or surf to the 
shore, 434 


Boats, running out a line, 
432 

sailing, 443 
sampans, 427 
schooner-rig, 446 
sculling, 427 
Seamen’s Act of 1915, 
394 

single-banked, 428 
sliding gunter, 446-449 
slinging by a crane, 420 
sloop rig, 445 
special types, 405 
sprit sail rig, 444-452 
standing lug, 443 
stations, 376 
stowage, 402 
types of construction, 
386 

under oars, 423 
water breaker, 389 
whale boat, 426 
wood most used, 388 
Bobstay, 46, 191 
Boiler stool, 46 
Boilers, types of, 32 
Bolderston, Capt., 714 
Bollard, 46 
Bolsters, 46 
Bolt rope, 78 
wire, 205 
Booby hatch, 46 
Boom, 46, 180 
rests, 166 
Bore, 728 
Bosom piece, 46 
Boss, 46 
Bossing, 46 
Bottomry bond, 764 
Boundary plank, 47 
Bow frame, 47 
Bowditch, 456, 459, 795, 
810 

Bowline, 85 
French, 86 
on a bight, 88 
Spanish, 88 
two bowlines, 91 
Bow plating frames, 56 
Bow port, 47 
Bowsprit, 47 

to take in, 188 
Box hauling, 775 
Braces, 198 
Bracket, 48 
Bradlee and Co., 175 
Breaching, 48 
Breadth, moulded, 27 
registered, 27 
Breakwater, 48 
Breaming, 917 
Breasthook, 48 
Bridge, 48 

bell time, 568 
captain’s orders, 540 
design, 533 

docking telegraphs, 538 
dodgers, 535 


Bridge, engine telegraphs, 
537 

keeping watch, 539 
Kent- Chadburn clear 
view screen, 535 
log book, 567 
Me Nab direction in¬ 
dicator, 537 
relieving watch, 540 
routine, 541 
running light indica¬ 
tors, 538 
telephones, 538 
turbine telegraphs, 538 
wind shields, 535 
Bridge piece, 48 
British Corporation, 39 
Brodthage,Capt. G. M., 356 
Brown, Capt. Cecil M., 742 
Brows, 322 
Bulkheads, 251 
after peak, 48 
collision, 44 
deck, 48 
doors, 375 
stepped, 48 
stiffeners, 48 
wash, 48 
Bullwark, 46 

Bunkers, coaling hatch, 248 
ports, 248 
cross, 248 
reserve, 48 
side, 248 
oil fuel, 248 
pocket, 48, 248 
state of, when loading, 
259 

trimmer, 319 
wing, 48 

Burney, Lieut., 728 
Bureau of Biological Sur¬ 
vey, on rats, 295 
Bureau of Standards, 526 
Bureau Veritas, 39 
“ Burtoning ” cargo, 233 
Bushings, 129 
Butt joints, 43 
Buoys, International sys¬ 
tem, proposed, 494 
U. S. buoys, 504 

Cabin, 48 
Cables, 77 

attaching to anchor, 
638 

cast steel, 636 
East River bridges, 116 
Cable’s length, 639 
Cables, making chain, 633 
marking links, A. B. S. 
rules, 639 

mooring swivel, 639 
ranging, 637 
securing in locker, 638 
stream, 635 
strength of, 633 
swivel piece, 639 












INDEX 


933 


Camber, 49 

Campbell, Mr. G. W., 926 
Cannery ships, 11 
Cant frame, 49 
Canvas, 202 

seams, flat seam, 203 
round seam, 000 
sewing, 203 
stitching, 204 
work, awnings, 219 
boat covers, 220 
bridge dodgers, 
220 

crow’s nest dod¬ 
gers, 220 
mast coats, 220 
oil bags, 220 
tarpaulins, 219 
ventilator covers, 
220 

windsails, 220 
Cap, carried away, 788 
Spanish, 000 
Cape Fear, S. S., 733 
Capstans and warping 
winches, 49, 235 
Careening, 917 
Cago battens, 49 
Cargo book, 256 

capacity sheet, 254 
deadweight, 255 
discharge at a port of 
disaster, 759 
gear, 166 

care of, 167 
5-ton, 154 
kinds of, 2 
Cargo-lights, 257 
Cargo, measurement, 255 
boom, efficiency, 157 
permeability of, 736 
ton, 20 

winches, types, 211 
winches, placement 
and use of, 277 
fittings, 156, 157 
Cargo booms, guying of, 159 
Cargo boom, lattice, 158 
Carlings, 47, 49 
Carriage of live stock, 322 
Carswell, Mr. J. S., 221 
Cask, to calculate capacity, 
266 

Cast-steel ship, 70 
Catch ratline, 191 
Cathead, 49 
Cat’s paw, 92 
Cattle slings, 322 
Caulking, 923 
Caulking-steel, 43 
Cavitation, 675 
Ceiling, 49 

Cellular double bottom, 47, 
49 

Cementing, 915 
Chain cables, 632-639 
hoists, 145 
locker, 49 


Channel bar, 41 
Charles Pratt, S. S., 364 
Charter Party, 761 
Charts, data on, 494 
Checkered plate, 49 
Cheek plates, 49 
Chocks, 49 
Chrome steel, 65 
Circulating pump, 49 
City of Atlanta, S. S., 733 
Clark, Capt. Arthur H., 9 
Classification, 36, 760 
Cleanliness, 886-887 
Cleanout door, 49 
Clearance, 766 
Clearing plug, 49 
Cleat, 50 

Clements, Capt. Ned, 532 
Climax, Ship, 208 
Clinches, inside, 98 
outside, 98 
Clinometer, 724 
Clipper Ship Era, 9 
Club, jumbo, 180 
topsail, 181 

Coaling at sea (also see 
stowage), 693 
Coaming, 50 
Coffee-slinging, 173 
Coffer dam, 50 
Coil of rope, 78 
Coir rope, 74 
Colliers' Weekly, 633 
Collins, Mr. Elmer, 529 
Collins, Mr. F. A., 633 
Collision, 730 

backing out, after, 73Q 
chocks, 50 

concrete vessels in, 733 
ice and derelicts, 735 
mats, 735 
stand by, 731 
straight stem vs. clip¬ 
per stem, 733 
unwritten rule, 730 
water-tight doors, 734 
Colloidal fuel, 32 
Columbus, 455, 622 
Columns, 41, 50 
Commissioner of Docks, N. 
Y., regulations for hazard¬ 
ous cargo, 278 
Commissioner of Naviga¬ 
tion, 24 
Companion, 50 
Compartment, 50 
Compass, adjustment, 458 
binnacle, 454 
boxing, 460, 463 
deviation, 455 
dry, construction of, 
455, 457 
error, 456 
gyro, 467 

latitude error on gyro, 
470 

liquid, 457 
lubber line, 471 


Compass, lubber’s line, 460 
merchant service card, 
467 

origin of, 453 
origin of points of, 454 
pelorus, 462 
points versus degrees, 
461 

problems, 465 
relative bearings, 463 
“ Scientific," the, 466 
variation, 455 
Compensation, 50 
Composite construction, 50, 
71 

Composite construction, 50, 
71 

Composition of forces, 148 
Concrete ship, 71 
Conditions of classification, 
37 

Constitution, U. S. Frigate, 
150 

Construction, methods of, 
68 

Convoys, 728 
Copper, 65 

Cost comparison, motor and 
steam vessels, 8 
Cranes, kinds of, 165 
Creasing stick, 206 
Cringle, 106 
Cross head, 50 
Crown (a), 100 
Cruiser stern, 4 
Curtin, John, 209 
Cyclops, Collier, 308, 694, 
697 

Davit (see boats), 45, 50 
Davie, Mr. H. M., 714 
Dead eye, 50 
light, 60 
rise, 50, 62 

Deadweight capacity, 20 
Deck and Boat Book, U. S. 

Navy, 432, 439 
Decks of a vessel, 50 
Deck, A. B. S. designations, 
51 

Decks, care of, 922 
Deck, freeboard, 51 
machinery, 221 
plugs, 922 
Deflection, 51 
Delaware, U. S. S., 469 
Demurrage, 761, 762 
Department of Commerce, 
247, 272, 372 

Department of the Inte¬ 
rior, 310 

Depre, Capt. C. F., 745 
Depth by A. B. S. rules, 27 
Depth, of hold, 27 
moulded, 27 
registered, 27 
Derelict, 539 







934 


INDEX 


Derricks, 51, 156 
Design, elements of ves¬ 
sel, 1 

Diagonal ties, 51 
Diamond plates, 51 
Diaphragm, 51 
Diesel motors, 34 
Dinger, Commander H. C., 
699 

Direction cable, 530-531 
Displacement, 21 
scale, 22 

Docking, 676, 915 
Dog, 51 

Dolphin striker, 192 
Donald McKay, Ship, 9 
Donkey boiler, 51 
Doppler effect, 724 
Draft, 27 

by A. B. S. rules, 28 
forced, natural, 32 
Drills, fire and boat, 373 
Drinking water, 888 
Drop stroke, 42 
Drowning, rescuing from, 
879 

restoring apparently 
drowned, 000 
Dry dock, work in, 919 
Duct keel, 57 
Dudley, Mr. J. S., 69 
Dew valve, 222 
Dyson, Admiral C. W., 33 

Eagle Oil Transport Co., 
344 

Eagle Point, The, 608 
Ecuador, S. S., floating of, 
745 

Edge strip, 51 
Edward Sewall, Ship, 
rounding Cape Horn, 779 
Eldredge, John, 483 
Electric drive, 33 
Engineering, 734 
Engineering and Mining 
Journal, 109 

Engineer's Society of Wes¬ 
tern Pennsylvania, 83 
Engines, types of, 33 
Equipment tonnage, 25 
Escape holes, 51 
Europa, The, 611 
Euphroe, 219 
Everett, Mr. H. A., 31 
Expansion bend, 51 
hatch, 55 
plans, 52 
Eye bolt, 52 
Eyebrow, 52 

Fabricated ship, 52, 68 
Factor of safety, 52, 64 
Fairlead, 52 
Fair^water cove, 918 
Faraday, Michael, 530 
Fawcett, Wm., 302 


Faying surface, 52 
Ferro-concrete, 71 
Fid, 49, 52, 102 
Fiddley, 52 
Fire, 749 

aero-automatic fire 
alarm, 752 
alarm, 749 

automatic sprinklers, 
752 

carbon dioxide, 753 
causes of, 751 
detectors, 751 
Diesel motor versus 
coal and oil, 756 
drill, 375, 381 
floating oil, 754 
general alarm, 373 
Grinnell automatic 
sprinkler, 753 
Lux fire extinguishing 
system, 753 
prevention, 751 
Rich system, 752 
room, 66 
stations, 749 
smoke helmets, 756 
sulphur, 755 
tetrachloride extin¬ 
guishers, 754 
warp, 664, 749 
what to do, 749 
Fisherman’s cable, 80 
Fishing a spar, 150 
Flemish horse, 180, 195 
coil, 689 

Floating dock, 916 
Floodable length, 26, 738 
Floors, 45, 53 
Florida, S. S., 732 
Flotsam, 747 
Flush deck, 5 
Fog, 609 
Foot ropes, 195 
Fore and afters, 15, 53 
Forecastle, 44, 53 
Forefoot, 53 
Fore mast, 59 
Fore peak, 53 
Fore stays, 47, 188 
Forced sale, 756 
Forces, parallelogram, 148 I 
Foundation plate, 53 
Framing, 41, 53 
after, 45, 61 
poop, 45 
reversed, 44 
stern, 45 

France, Bark, 9, 772 
Frapping, 95 
Frear, Mr. Hugo P., 308 
Freeboard, 28 

certificate, 760 
marks, 54 
Freeing port, 54 
Froc, S. J., Louis, 824 
Freight, 764 


Frieda S. S., 755 
Frithjof, Bark, 218 
Fresh water-loading, 21 
Fuel fever, 692 
Fuel oil bunkering at sea, 
696 

Fuller, Ship A. J., 86, 781 
Fumigation, 295, 889 
Funds, by master, 759 
Funnel casing, 54 
Furring, 54 

Gaffs, 180 
Galley, 54 
Gammoning, 47 
Gangway doors, 54 
platform, 45 
Garboard, 47 
Garland, 186 

Gatewood System, 4, 54, 68 
Gatewood, Mr. William, 68 
Germanischer, Lloyd, 39 
General boat alarm, 381 
George W. Elder, The, 000 
George Washington S. S., 
315 

Girders, 47, 49, 54 
Gladiator, H. M. S., 734 
Gladys, The, 612 
Goose neck, 54, 153 
Gopher-wood, 71 
Governor, S. S., 483 
Grace Log, 745 
Graving dock, 916 
Grain feeders, 54 
Granulated cork, 54 
Graving piece, 54, 922 
Gray, Thomas, verses, 618 
Great Eastern, S. S., 629 
Great Lakes, 6 
Great lakes are carrier, 304 
Grommet, 106 
Grounding (stranding), 
738-748 

Ground tackle, anchors, 
622-632 
cables, 632 
general description, 
619-620 

hemp and wire cables, 
619 

old-fashioned anchor, 
623 

shackles, 636 
stackless anchor, 625 
swivels, 636 

Guarantee Exterminator 
Co., 295 

Guayaquil custom house, 
293 

Gudgeons, 45, 54, 919 
Guess warps, 74 
Gunwale, 54 
Gutter, 54 
Guys, 166 

Gyro stabilizer (gyro com¬ 
pass—see compass), 721 







INDEX 


935 


Hackamore, 89 
Half rounds, 41 
Halifax disaster, 614 
Halsey , S. S., 356 
Halyards, 79, 211 
Hambroline, 78 
Handbook for Masters (La 
Boyteaux ), 748 
Handling lines, 80 
Hand sounding machine, 
480 

Handy billy, 94, 786 
Hanks, 201 
Harris, Capt., 745 
Hatch, 55, 304 
battens, 55 
covers, 738 
ledges, 41 
tarpaulins, 55 
wake of, 241 
Hatchway, 47, 55 
Havana, pilfering at, 293 
Hawse, clearing, 658 
pipe, 55 

Hawser, 55, 77, 83, 689 
Head spars, schooner, 182 
Heaving, 745 
Heaving down, 917 
Heavy lifts, 158 

precautions, 163 
rigging for, 162 
Heel, angle of, 725 
Helm, 55 

Hemp, Phorium, 74 
Sunn, 74 

Henderson, Mr., 209 
Henderson , U. S. S., 724 
Hermance, Lieut.-Com. 
Carl H., 19 

Herman Frasch, S. S., 755 
Hitch, blockwall, 92 
clove, 90 

double blockwall, 92 
half (hitch), 89 
marling, 93 
midshipman’s, 92 
rolling, 90 

round turn and two 
half hitches, 90 
timber, 90 

timber and half hitch, 
90 

Hitch(es), two half 
hitches, 89 

Hoffman, Dr. Frederick L., 
876 

Holding down bolts, 56 
Holds, 241 

beams, 55 
beam system, 55 
bow and stern parts, 
245 

cargo battens, 242 
cargo parts, 245 
divisions, 244 
ladders, 242 
light conduits, 243 


Hold-limbers, 241 
pillars, 242 
rose boxes, 243 
shifting boards, 244 
smothering lines, 243 
stanchions, 242 
stringers, 242 
strums or strainers, 243 
trunks, 245 
’tween decks, 243 
typical no. 1, 242 
water lines, 243 
wings of, 241 
Holladay, Mr. L. L., 69 
Holmes’ Practical Ship¬ 
building, 7, 39, 64 
Hong Kong Obs., 824 
Hooks, kinds of, 174 
safety, 172 

Horses, carriage of, 322 
Horsepower, 1, 675 
Hostler, Capt. H. C., 571 
Hot-bulb engines, 34 
Houseline, 78 
Howes, Capt. Fred., 208 
How Wooden Ships Are 
Built, E. Cole Estep, 73 
Hughes, on Admiralty, 733, 
756 

Hulk, 56 

Hull, efficiency" 56 
number, 56 
parts of, 45 
wooden, 72, 73 
Humphrey, Dr. W. J., 799 
Hyland, Mr. John L., 735 
Ice doubling, 56 
Ice, signs of, 736-737 
Illegal traffic, 766 
Imo, S. S., 614 
Imperator, S. S., 7 
Imperial Japanese Mari¬ 
time Corporation, 39 
Inspection, certificate, 760 
Insulation of holds, 56, 296 
Insurance, 36 
lines, 690 

Insured property, 757 
Intercostals, 56 
International Conference 
on Safety at Sea, 385, 
394, 734 

International Rules, 574 
Invermark, Bark, 714 
Invoice, 761 
Irwell, Lawrence, 522 
Isherwood, Mr. J. W., 68 
Isherwood system, 4, 54, 68 
Italian Lloyd, 732 
Jacks, hydraulic, 165 
Jack staff, 56 
Jacobs, Mr. Fred B., 11 
Jacob’s ladder, 109 
James, Baines, Ship, 9 
Jansen, Mr. A. W., 625 
Jeffries’ marine glue, 923 
Jetsam, 748 


Jettisoning, 747 

Jib boom, 56 

Jib guys, 191 

Jib martingale, 192 

Jobson, Mr. C. D., 467 

Joggle, 57 

John A. Matheson, schoon¬ 
er, 712 

Johnson, Mr. Eads, 362 
Jones, Mr. Bradley, 470 
Journal of American So¬ 
ciety of Naval Engineers, 
34 

Jury masts, 789 
Jury rudder, 705 

Karlowa, Capt. R., 709 
Keel, 44, 57 
bar, 000 
blocks, 000 
false, 000 
Keelson, 53 

middle line, 44 
side, 57 

Keen, Commander E. V. 
W., 665 

Kelvin, Lord, 475 
Kindler, Capt., 715 
King post, 57, 151, 168 
Knight heads, 47 
Knee, 58 

Knot— the measure of dis¬ 
tance, 487 
Knots, 85 
bag, 89 

bowline, 85, 86, 88, 91 
crabber’s eye, 93 
figure of eight, 89 
granny, 88 
Japanese, 93 
manrope, 100 
masthead, 93 
Mathew Walker, 100 
overhand, 89 
reef, 88 
shroud, 99 
square, 88 
stevedore’s, 93 
stopper, 99 
wall, 99 

Knotting a rope yarn, 95 
Knuckle line, 58 
Koko Head, Barkentine, 11 
Kolster, Dr., 526 

La Boyteaux, W. H., 532, 
576, 608, 748 
Lake steamer, 6 
Lambert, Mr. Walter D., 
478 

Lanyards, 50, 58 
tarred hemp, 79 
Larboard, 767 
Larry, 305 

Larsen, Capt. C. T., 11 
Lashings, 82, 95 
Lashing, rose, 95 






936 


INDEX 


Lattice work, 58 
Lay, 77 

days, 761 
Laying up, 928 
Lea, Mr. Robert B., 721 
Lead lines, 79 
hand,471 
marking hand, 471 
Lecky, Capt., Wrinkles in 
Practical Navigation, 
459, 692, 795, 797 
Length by A. B. S. Rules, 26 
between perpendicu¬ 
lars, 25 
floodable, 26 
on load water line, 26 
over all, 25 
for tonnage, 26 
registered, 26 
Leviathan, S. S., 7 
Lidgerwood Mfg. Co., 221, 
227 

Life Saving, Royal Society, 
881 

Lifts, 180 
Ligan, 748 
Lightening Ship, 9 
Lightening holes, 58 
Lighthouses, data on, 506 
Lignum vitae, 58 
Limber, board, 58 
chains, 58 
holes, 58 
Limbers, 58 

Limit in size of vessels, 8 
Linear dimensions, 25 
Liners, 1 

Living quarters, 887 
Lloyds’ Register of British 
and Foreign Shipping, 30, 
38, 39 

Loading Certificate, 765 
Loadline, 28 
Locking hoop, 58 
pin, 58 
Log, the, 484 
chip, 485 
Cumming’s, 488 
Dutchman’s, 485 
harpoon, 491 
leaving, 486 
line-marking, 485 
Navigator and Sal., 488 
Nicholson, 489 
Sperry and shoal water 
alarm, 492 
tachometers, 488 
taffrail, 489 
Log book, 761, 766 
Log lines, 79 
Longitudinal framing, 68 
Lordship Manor, S. S., 754 
Louvre, 58 , 

Lovett, W. J., “ Applied 
Naval Architecture 
671, 718 

Lower deck beams, 44 


Lower yard fittings, 193 
Lucke, Dr. C. E., 34 
Lug pod, 58 

Lynam, Capt. E. V., 713 

Machinery, propelling, 31 
Magazine, 58 

Maintenance book, 637, 
920, 929 

Majestic, S. S., 7 
Manganese steel, 65 
Manger, 58 
Manifest, 761 
Manila fibre, tensile 
strength, 74 
Manila rope, use of, 79 
Mann, Lieut.-Com. R. R., 
493 

Marchbanks, Capt. J., 714 
Margin plank, 47 
Margin plate, 47, 58 
Marie Celeste, Brig, 754 
Marimeter, the, 483 
Marine Engineering, 31, 
543, 630, 720, 917 
Marine Engineer's Hand¬ 
book — Sterling, 238 
Marine insurance, 765 
Marine Journal, 71 
Marine railway, 916 
Marine Review, 11 
Marktschlaeger, Capt. E., 
715 

: Marline, 78, 95 
; Martha Washington, S. S., 
1 469 

Martienssen, 470 
Masefield, 143 
Master, data for, 757 
disbursements, 759 
duty of preparing for 
sea, 571 

methods of, 542 
responsibility, 758 
| Master, Mate & Pilot, 731 
Masting with own re¬ 
sources, 184 
Masts, 151 
built, 189 
coats, 152 
cutting away, 788 
details, schooner, 181, 
183 

square rig, 180 
functions of, 151 
hoops, 201 
housing, 152 
names of, 59, 72, 179, 
184 

parts of, 59 
pole, 59, 155 
rope, 189 
square, 000 
table, 152 
tower, 155 
Mathes, Victor, 86 
Matheson, Capt., 712 


| Maumee, U. S. S., 700 
Mauretania, S. S., 469 
Measurement of vessels, 
20 

Mechanical Engineer's 
Handbook, 65 
Mechanical loading and 
discharging, 177, 314 
Mechanics on board ship, 
144 

Mellick, Capt. Arthur H., 
803 

Men On Deck, 372, 405 
Merchant Shipbuilding 
Corporation, 69 
Merrill, Lt.-Com. R. T., 
459 

Merriman Bros., 137, 140 
Messenger, 59 
Midship section, 47, 53 
Mildred, Schooner, 715 
Millet, Mr. J. B., 522 
Millham, Prof., Meteor¬ 
ology, 795 
Mizzen mast, 59 
McAllister, Capt. C. A., 
739 

McDonald, Capt. George, 
655 

McEntee, Commander 
Wm., 723 

Me Gray, Capt. Arthur N., 
755 

McNab Encyclopedia of 
Marine Appliances, 282 
Molybdenum steel, 65 
Monmouth, S. S., 712 
Monroe, S. S., 730 
I Montreal, Canada, Port 
Warden’s rules for grain, 
281 

Moody, Mr. A. J., 522 
Moon Co., Inc., Geo. C., 
125 

Mooring, 658 

a flying moor, 660 
pipes, 46, 60 
weighing from a, 649 
Moorsom’s System, 19 
Morale, 889 

Morrell, Mr. Robert W., 
363 

Mortgage, ship, 764 
Motor-ship, 6, 8, 34 
Mousing, 132 
Mt. Blanc, S. S., 614 
Muscatine, S. S., 298 
Muster list, 375 

Nantucket, Schoolship, 614 
Nantucket, S. S., 730 
National Board of Marine 
Underwriters, 281 
National Marine, the, 522 
Nautical Gazette, 343 
Nautical Magazine, the, 
540, 610 








INDEX 


937 


Naval Artificer's Manual, 
the, 23 

Nederlandsche Vereenig- 
ing van Assuradeuren, 39 
Nesco, S. S., 919 
Nets, use for old cargo, 172, 
173 

Newcastle, N. S. W., 11 
Newport News S. B. & D. 
D. Co., 68 

Newport, Schoolship, 50, 
195, 199, 424, 648, 748 
New York Produce Ex¬ 
change, 281 

New York Underwriters, 
the, 31 

Nickel steel, 65 
Nichols, Capt. C. M., 781 
Norske Veritas, 39 

Oakum, 80, 81 
Officer of the watch, 539 
Ohio, S. S., 713 
Oil fuel, 249 
storm, 717 

Oil-tight riveting, 60, 249 
Oil use of, 706-717 
Oliver, Capt., 713 
Olympic, S. S., 408-412 
Oracle, The, 280, 458, 692 
Oriental Naviaation Co., 
280, 458, 692 
Outreach, 60 
Overhang, 60 
Oxter plate, 60 

Pacific Marine Review, 
483, 742 

Pacific Steam Navigation 
Co., 745 

Paint formulas, 909-914 
Painting ship, 891-908 
Pair masts, 169 
Palms, roping, 206 
seaming, 206 
Panama R. R. Co., 291 
Panhandle State, S. S., 469 
Panting beams, 44 
stringers, 60 
Paravanes, 728 
Parbuckle, 165, 185 
Parcelling, 107 
Parral carried away, 788 
Parrall, 60 

Passenger vessels, bag¬ 
gage, 383 

Passenger vessels, certifi¬ 
cate of Inspection, 372 
Passenger vessels, mails, 
383 

Passenger vessels, 3, 372 
Passenger vessels, order 
and discipline, 372 
Passenger Act of 1882, 372 
Passenger list, 761 
Peaks, 245 

Permissible factor, 27 


Physics of the Air, Hum¬ 
phreys, 799 
Picard, G. S., 741 
Pidding ton's Horn Book, 826 
Pigeon holes, 49 
Pilots, 531 
Piloting, 492 
Pilot rules, 574, 597-606 
Piloting, through fog, 520 
Pintles, 54 
Pitching, 725 
Plating—deck, 44 
shell, 41 

Plimsoll mark, 29 
Plimsolh Samuel, 28 
Plummer block, 60 
Plymouth Cordage Co., 76, 
124 

Pneumercator gauge, 251 
Polar Sea, S. S., 298 
Poop, 60 
Port, 767 
Port charges, 765 
Porter, Lieut. J. O., 614 
Portland cement, use of, 
747 

Port light, 60 
Power tonnage, 24 
Practical Shipbuilding, 
Holms, 245, 248 
Pratique, 765 
Preparing for sea, 570 
Preventer guys, 159 
stays, 161 
Pricker, 206 

Prindle, Edwin J., letter of, 
741 

Prinzess Irene, S. S., 740 
Prize money, 756 
Producer gas engines, 35 
Propeller, arch, 61 
post, 45 
shaft, 000 
Protest, 762 

Pulsford, Mr. Ernest, 227 
Pumps, 303 

air bound, 240 
air chambers, 239 
air pipes, 238 
bilge, 237 
care of, 238 
circulating, 236 
connections, 239 
distribution boxes, 238 
fire, 51 

kinds used on board 
ship, 237 
laying up, 240 
location, 239 
lubrication, 240 
packing, 240 
pistons, 240 
roses and boxes, 238 
sounding pipes, 238 
steam connections, 239 
suction pipes, 238 
Purchases, 137 


Purchases, efficiency, 138 
Quadrant, 61 
Quarterdeck, 61 
Quartermasters’ stores, 79 
Quarter pillars, 61 

Rabbet, 61 

Radio compass bearings, 
526 

Rafts (see boats), 414 
Rake bunkers, 61 
of masts, 61 
Rattle down, to, 192 
Ratlines, 79, 156, 191 
Reciprocating engines, 33 
Record of American and 
Foreign Shipping, 37, 38 
Reducing gears, 33 
Reeder, Capt. W. H., 621 
Reefing, fore sail, 211 
Refrigerating machine, 
operations of a, 295 
Register, the, 760 
Registro Navale Italiano ,39 
Repairs in port, 757 
at sea, 757 
Republic, S. S., 732 
Resolution of forces, 148 
Respondentia bond, 764 
Responsibility, officer of 
the watch, 539 
Reversed frame, 42 
Ribs, 44 
Rider plate, 61 
Right of approach, 767 
Right of search, 766 
Rigger’s vise, 119 
Rigging, 189 

carrying away, 787 
for a moderately heavy 
lift, 168 
sails of, 200 
setting up, 190, 192 
screw, 119 
spanker of, 201 
spanker boom of, 198 
swiftered in, 193 
Rivets, top, 43 

swell neck, 43 
types, 43 

Rockefeller, S. S. John D., 
363 

Rods, 41 

Roe bling'sSons Co., J. A., 116 
Rollers, 728 
Rolling, 720 
chocks, 62 
period, 724, 725 
Rope, 74 

acid, det imental, 82 
bolt, 76 
cable laid, 77 
jaw, long, short, 7 
largest, 84 
lay of, 77 
life of, 83 
Manila, 84 












INDEX 


938 


Rope, metallic, 74 

notes on care of, 81 
open a coil, to, 81 
plain laid, 76 
re-made, 84 
rules for getting 
strength of, 128 
tables, 123 
Working Value of, 76 
Rope-walk, 84 
water laid, 77 
Roping sails, 204 
Rope, yarn, knotting, 95 
Rose boxes, 62, 303 
Rosen, Mr. S. S., 295 
Roundline, 78 
Roundhouse, 62 
Rouse, Capt. Fred., 438 
Row and Davis, oil heating 
system, 357 
Rucker, Dr., 295 
Rubber, 206 
Rudder, 62 

action of, 545 
arms, 62 
balanced, 62 
bow, 62 
design, 546 

gudgeons, 45, 54, 919 
jury, 705 

Kitchin reversing, 548 
parts of, 544 
pintles, 919 
types of, 546 
Ru, Capt. K., 716 
Rules of the A. B. S., 37 
Rules of the road, 574-618 
Rules of the road, notes 
on, 606-618 

Running rigging, 195, 196, 
197, 199 
Runners, 200 
Russel-Ranken steering 
recorder, 556 
Rust, explanation of, 891 

Safety on board ship, 876 
Safe working loads, hooks, 
bolts, shackles, 175 
Sagamore, the, 608 
Sail hook, 206 
Sail needles, kinds of, 205 
Sail, notes on handling, 782 
Sailer, handling, 15, 768 
Sailing, bracing yards, 785 
broaching to, 782 
casting, 793 
craft, 9, 11, 17, 18 
fore-and-aft canvas, 
786 

goosewing a sail, to, 
780 

heavy weather, 778 
man overboard, 789 
nearing other vessels, 
790 

records,9 


Sailing, scudding, 781 
squalls, 787 
taking in sail, 780 
topsail splits, 780 
ship rigging, 179 
Sailmaker, amount he can 
sew, 204 

Sails, bending, 207, 216 
bending a course in 
heavy weather, 218 
buntlines, 213 
care of, 218 
clew garnets, 212 
clew irons, 210 
clewlines, 212 
cringles, 206, 210 
draft of a lower topsail, 
215 

earings, 206 
eyelets, 209 
fittings of a square 
sail, 209 

five-masted bark, 10 
fore-and-aft, 214 
four-masted barken- 
tine, 12 

gaff topsails, 216 
gantline, 217 
leathering, 214 
leeches, 206 
leech lines, 214 
lizards, 213 
machine sewing, 209 
making, 215 
Marconi rig, 216 
middle stitching, 216 
midship tack, 207 
reefing gear, 213 
reef joints, 210 
reef tackles, 214 
repairing, 216 
roach, 216 
roping, 207 

spectacle irons, 210, 
212 

spilling lines, 213 
square, 206 
shifting, 218 
ship, of a, 202 
stowage, marking, 215 
tabling, 207 
taking in, 213 
Salt water, loading, 21 
j Salvage, 756 
Samson cord, 79 
Samson post, 62 
San Fernando, S. S., 344 
• San Florentino, S. S., 344 
Santa Maria, S. S., 455 
Santa Rosalia, S. S., 571 
Savannah Line, 733 
! Sea anchors, 703 
Sea cock, 62 
Seafarer, The, 76 
Sea kindly, 307 
1 Sea letter, 760 
j Seam, 62 


j Seamanship, Luce's, 150 
Seaworthy certificate, 760 
765 

Sea kindly, 719 
Seizings, eye, 97 
middle, 96 
plain, 96 
racking, 96 
round, 96 
throat, 97 
Selvagee, strop, 94 
Serving, board, 107 
mallet, 107 
Schooner, 14 

baldheaded, 16, 179 
disadvantages, 17 
sails, masts, 14 
square foresail, 776 
Scofield, S. S. D. G., 364 
S. course, 728 
Scotia, the, 611 
Screw aperture, 45 
Scuppers, 54 
blind, 62 
Scuttle, 62 
butts, 888 
Shackles, 166 
Sharpe, Mr. Geo., 745 
Shaw, Capt., 713 
Shear legs, 187 
j Sheer, 62 
Shear, 43 
Shears, 164 
Sheerstrake, main, 47 
upper 47 
Sheathing,62 
Sheets, 199, 212 
Shell plating, 42 
Shifting board, 62 
Ship, deck plan, 773 
maintenance, 891 
Shipwreck, instructions by 
U. S. Coast Guard, 883 
Shipping, 453, 461 
Shipping and Engineering, 
532 

Ship’s business, 756-765 
Ship’s papers, 759 
Shoulder, 62 
Shovelling flat, 62 
Shrouds, 62, 186, 191 
Signals, Continental Code, 

557 

engine room, 562 
for working derricks or 
booms, 163 
International Code, 

558 

lights, 562 
Morse Code, 557 
notes on, 557 
rockets, 562 
salutes, 563 
semaphore, 560 
U. S. Navy, 560 
Weather Bureau Sta¬ 
tions, 562 






Simmons, Mr. H. T., 305 
Sirrah, S. S., 716 
Sisal hemp, 74 

tensile strength, 74 
Slings, cargo, 161, 170, 171, 
173, 174 

Sloterdyk, S. S., 713 
Sluice, bulkhead, 48, 251 
Smith, Mr. David Wright, 
574 

Smoke boxes, 728 
Society of Naval Architects 
and Marine Engineers, 
363 

Sole piece, 63 
Sontay, S. S., 416 
Sounding, “ blue pigeon,” 
474 

coasting lead, 474 
deep sea lead, 475 
drift lead, 475 
hand lead, 472 
machine, construction 
and use, 475 
motor machine, 482 
pipes, 63, 242 
wells and tanks, 245 
Sound, velocity of, 518 
Southern Pacific Co., 291 
Sovereign of the Seas, Ship, 
9 

Spar deck, 5 
Spanish windlass, 98 
Specie, carriage of, 384 
Speed, 1 

by revolutions, 487 
sailing, 11 
of waves, 726 

Sperry, Mr. Elmer A., 469 
Sperry Gyroscope Com¬ 
pany, 467, 721 
Spitz, Samuel, 483 
Splice, back, 105 
chain, 105 
cut, 106 
eye, 102 

eye in four strand rope, 
104 

long, 104 

manila and hemp, 102 
mariner’s, 104 
short, 103 
Split pillar, 53 
Spraco paint gun, 892 
Sprague, Capt. W. A., 550 
Spring buffer, 63 
Spunyarn, 78 
St. Louis, S. S., 156, 739 
St. Mary’s, Schools hip, 621 
St. Paul, S. S., 734, 740, 922 
Stability, 717 
Stafford, Mr. James, 209 
Standard Oil Co., 347, 350 
Standard, ship, 2, 68 
ship, masts, 156 
Standing rigging, 189, 194 


INDEX 


Starboard, 767 
Station Bill, 372-380 
Stave of bowsprit, 61 
Stays, 152, 169 
Staysails, 209 
Stays, preventer, 170 
Stealer, 42 
Steamers, 32 

Steamer characteristics,654 
coming alongside a 
dock, 660 

going alongside anoth¬ 
er vessel, 665- 
670 

handling, 654 
handling in heavy 
weather, 701 
heaving to, 702 
hull appendages, 655 
single screw, 671 
triple screws, 674 
turbine, 674 
twin screws, 673 
tying up to wharf, 664 
Steel, 63 

construction, 40 
masts, 189 
shapes, 40 
Steering, 543 

electric telemotor, 552 
engines, 553 
gear, 549 
hand gear, 555 
helm commands, 549 
helm commands— 
Navy, 549 
helm indicator, 556 
length of trick at 
wheel, 556 
lelemotor, 550 
turning circle, 547 
twin screws, 673 
Stern, 44, 66 
Stern, frame, 66 
tube, 66 
post 44 

Stevenson, Mr. Thomas, 
727 

Steward’s department, 
boat stations, 376 
Still engine, 36 
Still, Mr. W. J., 36 
Stoek, Mr. H. H., “ The 
Safe Storage of Coal,” 
310 

Stoke hold, 66 
Stopper, 96 
Stores list, 761 
Stowage, 255 
acids, 273 

ammonia—liquid, 275 
aqueous solution, 
275 

amorphous phos¬ 
phorus, 275 

analysis of cargo work, 
294 


939 


Stowage, aqua regia, 273 
asphalt, 267 
bananas, 301 
Barden’s shifting 
boards, 281 
beef, 298 

beer and wine, 298 
bi-sulphide of carbon, 
275 

“ blown up,” 269 
Board of Underwriters, 
N. Y., 277 
regulations for 
loading Calcium 
carbide, 277 
regulations for 
constructing 
magazines, 277 
Board of Underwriters, 
N. Y., rules for car¬ 
rying coal on deck, 
313 

Board of Underwriters, 
N. Y., regulations 
for gasoline, naphtha 
and for benzine, 280 
brine coils in hatches, 
298 

carbonic acid—lique¬ 
fied, 276 

carbon papers, 276 
calcium carbide, 276 
carbolic acid, 274 
cargo diagrams, 270 
case oil, 280 
casks, 266 
caustic potash, 275 
caution, ore cargo, 310 
chilled cargo, 298 
chlorate of potash, 274 
chocking pieces, 258 
coal, 310 
cotton, 265 

damage due to rats, 
295 

dangerous cargo, 272 
deck load of lumber, 
268 

dinitrobenzol, 276 
dunnage, 258 
eggs, 298 
explosives, 274 
fire risk due to rats, 295 
fragile cargo, 292 
freight rates, special 
cargo, 290 
frozen cargo, 298 
general cargo, 269 
glue-pieces, 276 
grain in bags, 282 
grain cargoes, rules 
for stowage, 281 
grain, loading, dis¬ 
charging, 283 
grain, rules for loading 
steamers, sailing 
craft, 283 









940 


INDEX 


Stowage, hatches, 260 

hazardous cargo, 278 
heavy packages, 292 
hides, 263 

Hulett ore unloaders, 
305 

hydrochloric acid, 273 
modorous felt, 276 
jute, 264 
Kentledge, 261 
lampblack, 276 
loading berth, 260 
locomotive, loading a, 
290 

lumber, 268 
mahogany, 269 
manganese ore, 308 
matches, 276 
Michener coaling and 
trimming gear, 314- 
321 

mild acids, citric, 
acetic, etc., 273 
naphthalene, 276 
nitrate of soda, 273 
nitre coke, 274 
nitric acid, 273 
oiled materials, 276 
ore carriers—cargoes, 
304 

ore trunks, 308 
ore unloading, 305 
loading, 305 
order of, 260 
peroxide of sodium, 
275 

phosphoric acid, 274 
picric acid, 274 
pilfering, 292 
preparing for, 257 
railway iron, 261 
rats and cargo, 294 
refrigerator ships, 
295 

rice, 289 

roofing or sheathing 
felt, 276 

scales of permissible 
loading, 261 
screwing cotton and 
wool, 266 

shifting boards, 281 
shifting of ore cargo, 
308 

ship’s option, 291 
silk, 265 

special cargo, 289, 291 
spontaneous combus¬ 
tion, 310 
steel billets, 262 
steel plates, 262 
sugar, 262 

sugar wet by salt 
water, 263 
sulphuric acid, 273 
sulphide of sodium, 
275 


Stowage, sulphide of po¬ 
tassium, 275 
sulphur dioxide, 275 
supercargo, use for, 272 
supervision of, 293 
sweat boards, 264 
tallying, 271 
tea, 265 

tinned meats and 
fruits, 298 
tobacco, 265 
ton, the, 291 
trimming ore cargo, 
307 

turn around, 304 • 

ventilation, 264, 301 
wool, 266 
Strainer, 62 
Strake book, 66 
Stresses, 149 
Strakes, 42 
Strand, 76 
Stranding, 738-748 

first steps after, 739 
Stranded, rocking off, 747 
Stranding, sand, to keep 
out of condenser, 739 
things to remember, 
748 

treatment of ships 
ashore, 741 

Stratton, Mr. E. Platt, 000 
Stress, kinds of, 66 
Stringers, 44, 45, 63, 67 
Strum, 62 
Struts, 46, 67 
Stud, 67 

Submarine Boat Corpo¬ 
ration, 52 

Submarine bells, 522 
sentry, 484 
Surging, 49, 664, 677 
Surveys, 759 
Sytor, Chief Officer, 715 

Tabernacle, 152, 167 
Tables, chain, 174 
cargo hooks, 174 
shackles, 174 
turnbuckles, 174 
Tacking, barkentine, 772 
fore and after, a, 774 
missing stays, 772 
square rigger, 769 
Tackles, 137, 143 
boom, 200 
gun, 141 
jiggers, 142 
kinds of, 142 
luff, 141 
reef, 214 
runner, 141 
single whip, 140 
sluing, 161 
Spanish burton, 141 
“ to fleet,” 143 
to make up, 143 


Tables, “ two blocks,” 
142 

twofold, 141 
Tackles, watch, 141 
Tail shaft, 918 
Tanker, 3, 343 

action in a seaway, 343 
air valves, 351 
outer and inner sea 
valves, 355 
ballasting, 357 
barge delivery line, 356 
barges, 371 

Baume table of de¬ 
grees, 370 

bell-mouthed suctions 
349 

bilge suctions, 356 
bunker, 346 
care of tanks, 358 
chief mate in charge of 
pipe lines and pumps, 
347 

cleaning tanks, 359 
cofferdams, 345, 365 
cylindrical tanks, 354 
desk delivery line, 355 
expansion trunks, 353, 
364 

fire precautions, 365 
flash point of oil, 369 
general remarks on, 
363 

hatches, 352 
heating coils, 351, 357 
hose connections, 353 
hydrometers, 370 
important points, 355 
Isherwood System, 346 
master valves, 350 
molasses, 371 
mooring lines, 353 
numbering of tanks, 
346 

oil cargo, 368 
oil, a live load, 354 
oil hatches and gas 
trunks, 363 

oil-tight construction, 
345 

oil wash, 359 
pressure and vacuum 
valves, 353 

prevention of explo¬ 
sions, 361 

pumping out tanks, 356 
pipe lines, 348 
pump room, 347 
repairs in dry dock, 
precautions, 360 
sea delivery line, 355 
shelter decked vessel, 
363 

short essay on design, 
366 

sounding tanks, 369 
special design, 364 







INDEX 


941 


Tanker, specific gravity of 
oil, 369 

steam smothering 
lines, 351 
steam valves, 351 
steam valves, control 
of, 356 

steaming tanks, 359 
stripping lines, 349 
subdivision of hull, 
344, 365 

suctions, location of, 
348 

summer tanks, 354 
tanks, “ gas-free,” 360 
testing tanks, 360 
ullage, 353 
valves, 349 

valves, caution in use 
of, 350 

valves, difference be¬ 
tween American and 
British, 351 
valves, drop, 354 
valve markings, 342 
valve rods, 351 
valve signals, 356 
viscosity of oil, 371 
viscosimeters, 371 
Tanks, 45 

Tanks, air lock, 248 

double bot., deep, 246 
fresh-water, 247 
settling, 250 
sounding pipes, 63,245 
swash, 701 
swash plates, 247 
trimming, 246 
when loading, 259 
wing, 247 
Tarred fittings, 78 
Taylor, Mr. Thomas Roth- 
well, “ Stowage of Ship 
Cargoes," 272 
T bar, 41 
Teak, 923 

Teesbridge, S. S., 713 
Texan , S. S., 3 
Texas Co., 224 
Thermit welds, 922 
Things A Sailor Needs to 
Know, by Captain D. 
Wilson-Barker, 418 
Thomas, U. S. Army Trans¬ 
port, 713 

Thoroughfooting a rope, 81 
Three Brothers, Ship, 621 
Three Island, steamer, 4 
Thrust block, 67 
Tides, data on, 512-517 
Tide Water Oil C., 363 
Tide rode, 656 
Timenoguy, 199 
Times, N. Y., 741 
Tingley, F. G., 834 
Tisdale, Lieut.-Com. Mah- 
lon S., 308 


Todd & Whalls' “ Seaman¬ 
ship, 1 ' 307 
Tom, 67 
Tonnage, 19 
Ton, cargo, 20 
Tonnage, deck, 20 
certificate, 760 
equipment, 25 
gross, 19 
net registered, 19 
power, 24 
rules for, 19 
under-deck, 19 
Tons per inch scale, 23, 256 
Top, details, 186 
Topmast, fidded, 155 
fittings, 153 
sending up, 189 
telescopic, 155 
Topping lifts, 166, 195 
Topside strakes, 42 
Towing, 678-691 

abandoning tow, 690 
casting off, 689 
engine, 680-688 
hawsers, A. B. S. rules, 
690 

lines, 80 
regulations, 690 
spar, 728 

taking vessel in tow, 688 
Tramps, 1 

Transatlantic trade, 7 
Transom plates, 45, 67 
Transverse construction, 44 
Trautwine's Engineer's 
Pocket Book, 518 
Trestle trees, 49, 52 
Trim, 67 

Trochoidal theory of waves, 
725 

Tuck plate, 67 
Tugela, S. S., 714 
Tumble home, 62, 67 
Tungsten steel, 65 
Tunnel well, 67 
Turbines, 33 
Turret-deck steamer, 7 
Twin Brothers, Ship, 754 
Twine, kinds of, 203 
Types of vessels, 3 

Under Sail, 86, 769 
United Fruit Co., 302 
Ultimate strength, 52 
Uptake, 67 

U. S. Army Transport Serv¬ 
ice, 660 

U. S. Bureau of Animal In¬ 
dustry, Dept, of Agri¬ 
culture, regulations for 
transport of cattle and 
horses, 323 

U. S. Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, 477 
U. S. Coast Guard, 883 
U. S. Consuls, 761 


U. S. Department of Com¬ 
merce, 573 

U. S. Hydrographic Office, 
459, 487, 529, 712, 817 

U. S. Inland Rules of the 
Road, 574, 577-596 
U. S. Naval Institute, Pro¬ 
ceedings, 19, 308, 493, 
699 

U. S. Navigation Laws, 20, 
372 

U. S. Navy, 115, 469, 630 
liquid compass, 458 
testing anchor engines, 
644 

U. S. Public Health Service, 
295 

U. S. Steamboat-Inspection 
Service, 372, 374, 394, 
417, 570, 571, 760, 918 
U. S. Shipping Board, 21, 
297, 917 

U. S. Weather Bureau, 799, 
800, 801, 809, 810, 817, 
818, 819, 834, 845, 875 

Vanadium steel, 65 
Veritas Austro-Ungarico, 39 
Van der Heuvel, Capt., 713 
Vangs or downhauls, 200 
Vessels, classes of, 24 
limiting size, 2 
Vicksburgh, U. S. S., 747 
Vouchers, 765 

Wale shores, 916 
Walton's Know Your Own 
Ship, 23 
Wake, 727 
War, 766 
Warming, 107 
Washing down, 926 
Wash plate, 67 
port, 67 

Waterbury Co., 124 
Waterway, 67 
Waves, 724 
Wearing, 774 

Wearing in heavy weather, 
777 

a schooner, 776 
Weather, The Atmosphere, 
by F. J. B. Cordeiro, 
795 

barometer, 801 
Beaufort scale, 794 1 
character of day, 809 
data on cyclonic 
storms, 818-833 
Weather deck, 67 

Forecasting, by Com¬ 
modore A. B. Ben¬ 
nett, 799-810 
' jingles, 796 

Weather on the oceans of 
the world, 835-875 









942 


INDEX 


Weather, pilot charts, 816 
radio forecasts, 810 
storm warnings, 797 
winds, 810-816 
wind-direction, 797 

wind veering and haul¬ 
ing, 804 

Welded ship, 69 
Well deck 5 
W ellman-Sea ver-Morgan 
Co., 305 

West Avenal, S. S., 280 
West Togua, S. S., 255 
Whaleback, 6 

Wheat Tariff Association of 
San Francisco, rules for 
grain, 281 
Wheelhouse, 533 
Whelps, 49 

Whipping, French, 108 
plain, 108 
sailmaker’s, 108 
Whistles, 612 

White's Manual of Naval 
Architecture, 20 
White, Capt. J. H., 357 
Whitlock Cordage Co., 109 
Winches, 2 

electric, 226 


Winches, freezing, 236 
heavy duty, 230 
herring-bone gears, 222 
loading with a single, 
234 

operation and care of, 
222 

platforms, 153 
raised bed, 232 
repairs, 225 
reverse lever, 229 
side by side, 231 
single friction drum, 
228 

two-speed, single fric¬ 
tion drum, 229 
types of, 221 

Windlass, general descrip¬ 
tion and use, 639 
Wild cat, 67 

Wilson-Barker, Capt., 418 
Wire rope, 109 

armored-rope, 111 
deep sea towing, 110 
eye-clamped, 120 
eye splice, 118 
long splice, 120 
hawsers and mooring 
lines, 110 
hemp covered, 115 


Wire rope, how to measure, 
128 

relative strength, 111 
running rope, 110 
sockets, 122 
splicing, 117 
splicing tools, 117 
standing rigging, 110 
tiller or hand rope, 111 
to take out kinks, 113 
to uncoil, 112 
use of, 116 
Wolding, 150 
Wooden construction, 71 
Worcester, Schoolship, 418 
Working load, 52 
World's Markets, 292 
Wrecking cable, 80 

Yachting, 217, 921 
Yacht routine, 563 
Yards, 211 

fittings, 179 
of a ship 196 
sprung, 150-788 
Yarn 76 

Yates, Capt. E. L., 692 

Z-bar, 41 
Zig zag, 728 
Zi-ka-wei Obs., 824 




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